Heat Determination of Growth in Pistachia vera Cultivars

With the rise in interest in systems modelling, there is an opportunity for pistachio growers to take advantage of new technologies to enhance their production. Management decisions have been made in other industries by using phenology models as tools. For example, the pressure of the olive fly in olive production is only severe when the olive is 80 mm³ in size and, therefore, tracking fruit development in a phenology model has shown that spraying for the pest before the crop has accumulated 1200 heat units is unnecessary. Heat unit accumulation has been shown as a driver of fruit development, especially well documented in peach and applied to almond production. We propose to expand the use of heat unit accumulation by characterizing nut growth as a function of heat units. Simultaneously, we will document stage development of the pistachio nut using biomarkers for the individual stages. By tracking this process stage development as a product of heat unit accumulation, our research will be a tool in pest and disease control.