Search results for "Orchard"
showing 10 items of 104 documents
Toward the valorization of olive (Olea europaea var. europaea L.) biodiversity: horticultural performance of seven Sicilian cultivars in a hedgerow p…
2019
Abstract An intense survey of the Sicilian’s olive growing areas for autochthonous germplasm, mainly represented by centennials olive trees (Olea europaea var. europaea L.) apparently older then III centuries, started at the beginning of the 1980s and resulted in the selection of more than 150 cultivars and accessions. This germplasm was propagated in a nursery, by grafting onto seedlings of Olea europaea L., and planted in an experimental orchard, in an olive district located in the South-west of the Island, where they were evaluated for over 30 years and selected for their early bearing, high and constant productivity, as well as high oil content of the fruits and excellent chemical (olei…
Evaluation of fruit quality and antioxidant activity of kiwifruit during ripening and after storage
2016
BACKGROUND: In the Northern hemisphere kiwifruit harvest time is conditioned by low temperatures occurring during the harvesting season while in Southern Italy minimum temperatures in autumn are high enough to support fruit growth and ripening. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of delayed harvest time on kiwifruit quality attributes. METHODS: The experiment was carried out in a commercial kiwifruit, 'Hayward', orchard located in Southern Italy. In this area, the conventional harvest time occurs 160 days after full bloom (DAFB), during the first decade of November. Fruits were collected from 130 DAFB to 192 DAFB. Fresh fruit and dry weight, flesh color, firmness, total soluble solids cont…
Horticultural performance of 23 Sicilian olive genotypes in hedgerow systems: Vegetative growth, productive potential and oil quality
2017
Abstract The super high density (SHD) model is a new olive growing system characterized by earlier and higher yields, fully mechanized harvesting and reduced orchard management costs. Until recently all commercial SHD orchards were planted primarily with three varieties: ‘Arbequina’, ‘Arbosana’ and ‘Koroneiki’. To increase variety diversity, broaden available olive oil chemical and organoleptic profiles, and olive oils for marketing, minor local varieties should be evaluated for adaptability to the SHD system. This study compares multiple Sicilian native genotypes to the three current cultivars ‘Arbequina’, ‘Arbosana’ and ‘Koroneiki’. The cumulative fruit and oil production, trunk-cross sec…
Tree Planting Density and Canopy Position Affect ‘Cerasuola’ and ‘Koroneiki’ Olive Oil Quality
2021
To maximize orchard production and tree crop efficiency, optimization of both maximum orchard light interception and radiation distribution within the tree canopy are important strategies. To study the influence of planting density and fruit position within the canopy on oil quality from &lsquo
Shifts in the structure of rhizosphere bacterial communities of avocado after Fusarium dieback
2021
The rhizosphere microbiome is critical for plant growth and protection against plant pathogens. However, rhizosphere microbial communities are likely to be restructured upon plant infection by fungal pathogens. Our objective was to determine the shifts in rhizosphere bacterial communities of avocado trees (Persea americana Mill.) after Fusarium dieback (FD), a disease triggered by the symbiotic fungi of invasive ambrosia beetles (Euwallacea kuroshio and Euwallacea sp. nr. fornicatus), using 16S rDNA gene amplicon sequencing and a culture-dependent approach. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected from five asymptomatic and five FD-symptomatic avocado trees in a Californian orchard. Sequence…
Insecticide residues in cotton soils of Burkina Faso and effects of insecticides on fluctuating asymmetry in honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus).
2011
8 pages; International audience; Four insecticides (acetamiprid, cypermethrin, endosulfan and profenofos) are used quarterly in the cotton-growing areas of Burkina Faso, West Africa. These insecticides were investigated in soils collected from traditionally cultivated and new cotton areas. Also, the effects of insecticide exposure on the developmental instability of honey bees, Apis mellifera, were explored. In soil samples collected three months after insecticide treatments, endosulfan and profenofos concentrations varied in the range of 10-30μgkg(-1) in the traditionally cultivated zones and 10-80μgkg(-1) in the new cotton zones, indicating a pollution of agricultural lands. However, only…
Can Mating Disruption Be a Possible Route to Control Plum Fruit Moth in Mediterranean Environments?
2020
Simple Summary Grapholita funebrana is a main pest of plum throughout the Palearctic region. The management of this pest is generally carried out with chemical insecticides. In this study we investigated the suitability of the mating disruption as alternative method of control of this pest. Experiments were carried out in organic plum orchards during 2012 and 2014. Trap catches and fruit sampling were carried out to estimate the efficacy of this technique in reducing males catch and fruit infestation. The results indicated that the males caught in traps placed in the treatment plots was always significantly lower than untreated plots. The chemical analysis of the pheromone emission from the…
A Cultivar-Sensitive Approach for the Continuous Monitoring of Olive (Olea europaea L.) Tree Water Status by Fruit and Leaf Sensing
2020
Sustainable irrigation is crucial to reduce water use and management costs in modern orchard systems. Continuous plant-based sensing is an innovative approach for the continuous monitoring of plant water status. Olive (Olea europaea L.) genotypes can respond to drought using different leaf and fruit physiological and morphological mechanisms. This study aimed to identify whether fruit and leaf water dynamics of two different olive cultivars were differently affected by water deficit and their response to changes of midday stem water potential (Ψstem), the most common indicator of plant water status. Plant water status indicators such as leaf stomatal conductance (gs) and Ψstem were measured…
Validation of an online system for the continuous monitoring of tree water status for sustainable irrigation managements in olive (Olea europaea L.)
2016
Abstract As a result of climate change a large reduction of agricultural water through improved irrigation management is a major need for agriculture sustainability. To this aim, always more sensitive sensors to monitor plant water status have been developed in recent years. Among them, the leaf patch clamp pressure probes are very promising for water management of olive but until now have been tested only in few environmental and management conditions. In this work these sensors have been tested for two consecutive years on two completely different management systems: a traditional rainfed orchard and a super high density (SHD) drip irrigated orchard. Within the SHD orchard the probes have…
Detecting Mild Water Stress in Olive with Multiple Plant-Based Continuous Sensors.
2021
A comprehensive characterization of water stress is needed for the development of automated irrigation protocols aiming to increase olive orchard environmental and economical sustainability. The main aim of this study is to determine whether a combination of continuous leaf turgor, fruit growth, and sap flow responses improves the detection of mild water stress in two olive cultivars characterized by different responses to water stress. The sensitivity of the tested indicators to mild stress depended on the main mechanisms that each cultivar uses to cope with water deficit. One cultivar showed pronounced day to day changes in leaf turgor and fruit relative growth rate in response to water w…