Search and Access Archived Conference Presentations

2018 ASHS Annual Conference

The Relationship between Peach Fruit Weight, Crop Density and Early Season Temperature

Tuesday, July 31, 2018: 4:30 PM
Lincoln East (Washington Hilton)
R P. Marini, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Esmaeil Fallahi, Professor and Director of Pomology and Viticulture Program, University of Idaho Parma Research and Extension Center, Parma, ID
Poliana Francescatto, Cornell University, Geneva, NY
Gregory L. Reighard, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Jaume Lordan, Cornell University, Geneva, NY
Terence Lee Robinson, Cornell University, Geneva, NY
Dwight Wolfe, Univ. of Kentucky, Princeton
Michael J. Newell, Wye Research and Education Center, Queenstown, MD
Audio File Recorded Presentation
A multi-location study was conducted over four years to evaluate the effect of crop density (CD) and early-season temperatures, alone and in combination, on fruit weight (FW) at harvest. ‘Redhaven’ and ‘Cresthaven’ peach trees growing at five sites were hand-thinned each of four years to provide a range of CDs. For each site, cumulative growing degree days were calculated from minimum and maximum daily temperatures for the first 30 days after 50% full bloom using 4⁰C as the base temperature (CGDD30). The relationships between average fruit weight (FW) and CD and CGDD30 were fairly variable, but FW was generally negatively related to both CD and CGDD30. Variability in the data likely resulted from differences in orchard practices and environmental conditions at the different sites. The interaction of CD and CGDD30 was rarely significant at an individual site, indicating that the two factors are independent and have an additive effect on FW and days from bloom to harvest.
See more of: Pomology I
See more of: Oral Abstracts