Search results for "orchard"

Determination of the effective emissivity and temperature under vertical observation of a citrus orchard. Application to frost nowcasting

1988

Abstract In this work we use Becker's model for the determination of the effective temperature and emissivity under vertical observation of a citrus orchard. We apply this model to the particular case of a typically radiative night cooling (completely clear sky and calm wind) condition under which radiation frosts are normally produced which are damaging to the fruit and, consequently, to the Valencian economy. An attempt is made to establish a safety limit over which a frost cannot be produced. Ground and orange tree emissivity measurements were carried out by means of the box method. We were able to construct a hand-driven scanning system for the temperature measurement of the ground-oran…

Changes in chemical and biological soil properties as induced by anthropogenic disturbance: A case study of an agricultural soil under recurrent floo…

2006

Abstract Monitoring the environmental impact of anthropogenic disturbance on soil ecosystem is of great importance for optimizing strategies for soil use, conservation and remediation. The aim of this study was to assess whether and to what extent a long-term, human-induced disturbance could have affected main chemical and biological properties in an agricultural soil. The study site was a hazel (Corylus avellana L.) orchard located in the area surrounding the volcanic apparatus of Somma-Vesuvius (Southern Italy). For the last two decades, the site has been repeatedly subjected to floodings by wastewaters containing not only alluvial sediments but also potentially hazardous compounds from i…

Syntaxonomy and ecology of thermophilous deciduous open woodlands and scrub vegetation in Tajikistan (Middle Asia)

2022

In this paper we present the first syntaxonomic classification for the thermophilous open wood and scrub vegetation in Tajikistan with some remarks on its environmental gradients. Altogether 143 relevés were sampled between 2014–2021 using the seven-degree cover-abundance scale of Braun-Blanquet. They were classified by the modified TWINSPAN method with the use of the four step interval scale with cutoff levels of 0%, 2%, 5% and 10% and total inertia as a measure of cluster heterogeneity. Diagnostic species were identified using the phi coefficient as a fidelity measure. Detrended Correspondence Analysis was used to determine the relation between samples, vegetation units and the major grad…

Modeling olive orchard response to water stress and definition of critical thresholds of soil water status.

2011

Research strategies for the improvement of cactuspear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit quality and production

1995

Abstract Cactus pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica L.) is cultivated worldwide for fruit production either in the subsistence agriculture of dryland areas or as a cash crop. However, little horticultural research has been devoted to this species so far. Research needs related to reproductive biology as well as productivity and orchard management are outlined. A better knowledge of the environmental influence on reproductive biology and fruit quality, the control of fluctuations in plant cropping, as well as the reduction of seed number and size, are the major challenges for future research. Cactus pear will transcend the ethnical markets only if adequate marketing strategies can be promoted and fr…

Investigationes on population dynamics and mortality of Phyllocnistis citrella in western Sicily (Italy)

2006

Population dynamics and mortality of P. citrella, and its natural enemies with parasitism levels in two different citrus orchards, sprayed and unsprayed, were investigated. The effect of host density on percentage parasitism and mortality was calculated by regression analyses. In both sites, over the 3-years period from 2002 to 2004, P. citrella was detected during the summer months and it was not found during the first flush. Population levels were low, never exceeding 3.0/leaf. P. citrella began to increase from June in 2002-2003 and from July in 2004. The monthly percentage parasitism of P. citrella in sprayed orchard fluctuated from 0 to 19%, while in unsprayed from 0 to 30%. High morta…

Toward the definition of a carbon budget model: seasonal variation and temperature effect on respiration rate of vegetative and reproductive organs o…

2009

Summary This study, as a preliminary step toward the definition of a carbon budget model for pistachio trees (Pistacia vera L.), aimed at estimating and evaluating the dynamics of respiration of vegetative and reproductive organs of pistachio tree. Trials were performed in 2005 in a commercial orchard located in Sicily (370 m a.s.l.) on five bearing 20-year-old pistachio trees of cv. Bianca grafted onto Pistachio terebinthus L. Growth analyses and respiration measurements were done on vegetative (leaf) and reproductive (infructescence) organs during the entire growing season (April–September) at biweekly intervals. Results suggested that the respiration rates of pistachio reproductive and v…

Horticultural management of Italian Pistachio orchard systems: current limitations and future prospective

2019

Pistachio production and consumption have strongly increased in the last years due to its capability to grow under limiting conditions, the profitability of this nut in the market and its well claimed healthy properties. The Sicilian pistachio industry is diminutive in comparison to big producing countries such as California and Iran. Its economical profitability is limited by a low productivity per surface area, strong alternate bearing, and long unproductive period, mainly associated with the lack of implementation of innovative management practices. This “traditional” agricultural system is surviving in a highly competitive international market thanks to the unique organoleptic profile o…

The Italian Almond Industry: New Perspectives and Ancient Tradition

2014

The almond industry in Italy presents a high degree of structural variability that is determined by the jeopardized coexistence of old, traditional orchards and new plantations that differ each other not only in terms of age but also mainly in terms of orchard system. Apulia and Sicily still remain the most important production areas where the 90% of the almond orchards are concentrated. In this southern part of Italy, almond and its derivatives still remain really important. In the last two decades, the Italian almond industry did not show a regular trend, neither with respect to production nor to acreage. An innovative almond industry revealed its consistency year after year since 2000: s…

Agro-hydrological models and field measurements to assess the water status of a citrus orchard irrigated with micro-sprinkler and subsurface drip sys…

2021

Compared to the micro-sprinkler irrigation, traditionally used in citrus orchards, subsurface drip systems (SDS) allow increasing the water use efficiency (WUE); when coupled with water-saving strategies, like regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), further increase of WUE are possible. Combining measurements of soil water content (SWC) and weather data with measurements of midday stem water potential (MSWP) makes it possible to identify irrigation scheduling parameters for the RDI. However, measurements of MSWP are destructive and time-consuming, and also require skilled operators. For all these reasons, the use of the agro-hydrological models, such as the FAO-56 model, can be considered a sur…