Search results for " Malus domestica"

Fruit yield and quality responses of apple cvars Gala and Fuji to partial rootzone drying under Mediterranean conditions

2012

SUMMARYIncreasing irrigation efficiency is a major goal for fruit production in dry Mediterranean environments. The present study was conducted in three consecutive years (2007–09) under typical Mediterranean conditions and tested the effect of partial rootzone drying (PRD) on yield and fruit quality of two apple cultivars: Gala, with fruit maturing in summer and Fuji, with fruit maturing in autumn. Three irrigation treatments were imposed: conventional irrigation (CI), PRD (0·50 of CI water on one side of the rootzone, which was alternated periodically) and continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 0·50 of CI water on both sides of the rootzone). During the 2008 and 2009 irrigation seasons, DI re…

Validating an apple dry matter production model with whole canopy gas exchange measurements in the field

1999

The simplified apple dry matter production model developed by Lakso and Johnson (1990) was modified by inputing tree-specific parameters from a study of seasonal growth and gas exchange of 4-year-old Empire/M.9 apple trees, and light and temperature response curves developed for Empire apple organs. Measurements of the seasonal trend of diurnal net C02 and canopy water vapor exchange were made at intervals on three four-year-old 'Empire'/M.9 slender spindle apple trees in the orchard from 10 days after bloom until 25 days after harvest. The tree canopies were enclosed in clear plastic "balloon- type" chambers (similar to Corelli and Magnanini, 1993) that was monitored continuously for more …

Effect of rootstock vigor and in-row spacing on stem and root growth, conformation, and dry-matter distribution of young apple trees

2003

The effects of M.9 and MM.106 rootstocks and in-row spacing (0.4, 0.7, and 1 m) on the vegetative behavior of three-year-old apple (Malus domestica Borkh) trees were studied. Analysis of digital images was used to estimate canopy and root growth and conformation (shape and size), whereas dry matter distribution was used to determine partitioning to various plant parts. Trees on less vigorous M.9 rootstocks showed reduced stem and root growth as they produced less and/or shorter shoots and less and/or shorter and thinner roots. Canopy spread area (CSA) and volume were similar for trees on both rootstocks and differences in stem length density (stem length per unit canopy volume; SLD) compens…

Responses of apple to partial root-zone drying. A review.

2013

Partial root-zone drying (PRD) is a relatively recent strategy aiming at substantial reduction of irrigation volume. It consists of the alternate irrigation of one portion of the root-zone with volumes reduced to about 40-50% of conventional water. PRD is based on the ability of roots in drying soil to produce hormonal signals, like abscissic acid (ABA), responsible for partial stomatal closure. In turn, partial stomatal closure would improve water use efficiency and increase fruit yield per unit of irrigation water. This technique has been tested on a number of fruit crops, including apple. In addition to climatic conditions, which mainly affect atmospheric water demand, soil properties an…

Micromorphological, biochemical and genetic characterization of two ancient late bearing apple varieties.

2010

Fruit quality of Sicilian, commercially affirmed, and newly selected apple varieties: potential resources for genetic improvement and specialty marke…

2012

Several apple varieties are constantly selected for improved quality traits and introduced for cultivation and marketing in addition to a few traditional and affirmed varieties. Recently, specific fruit quality traits like enhanced flavor, crispness and juiciness have been particularly requested by consumers and are gradually replacing more conventional characteristics like fruit size, peel color and sweetness in the breeding programs. Furthermore, some of the newly selected varieties exhibit a relatively low level of plasticity, posing serious problems of adaptation when cultivation is proposed in a wide range of environments. In this most recent perspective, some of the old varieties or l…