2021 canopy cropload results

Table 1 presents production results (yield, fruit quality) for nectarine ‘Autumn Bright’ under crop load treatments (high, medium, low) for Vertical Leader and Tatura Trellis canopy systems for seasons 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively at Tatura, Victoria, Australia.

Overall, low crop load reduced final fruit number, increased fruit weight, reduced yield, and increased fruit sweetness (°Brix). The converse effect on yield and fruit quality occurred in the high crop load treatments. No consistent trends were noted for fruit flesh firmness (kgf), fruit maturity (I_AD) or skin redness coverage (%) under crop load treatments on either canopy system (Table 1). Notably, high fruit sweetness (≥ 12.9 °Brix) occurred throughout the study period (seasons 1 – 6), irrespective of crop load and canopy system combination.

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Table 2 presents production results (yield, fruit quality) for peach ‘August Flame’ under crop load treatments (high, medium, low) for Vertical Leader and Tatura Trellis canopy systems for seasons 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively at Tatura, Victoria, Australia.

Overall, low crop load reduced final fruit number, increased fruit weight, reduced yield, increased fruit sweetness (°Brix) and advanced fruit maturity (I_AD).  The converse effect on yield and fruit quality occurred in the high crop load treatments. No consistent trends were noted for fruit flesh firmness (kgf) or skin redness coverage (%) under crop loads treatments on either canopy system (Table 2). Notably, high fruit sweetness (≥ 13.3 °Brix) occurred throughout the study period (seasons 1 – 6), irrespective of crop load and canopy system combination.

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Table 3 presents production results (yield, fruit quality) for apricot ‘Golden May’ under crop load treatments (high, medium, low) for Vase and Tatura Trellis canopy systems for seasons 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively at Tatura, Victoria, Australia.

Overall, low crop load reduced final fruit number, increased fruit weight, reduced yield, increased fruit sweetness (°Brix), lowered flesh firmness (kgf), advanced fruit maturity (I_AD), and decreased fruit skin redness coverage (%). The converse effect on yield and fruit quality occurred in the high crop load treatments.

Characterisation of each individual fruit quality (sample size per season, n ≈ 17,000 fruit) was determined from a combination of fruit weight, maturity and sweetness. Fruit was classified as ‘premium’ grade when weight ≥ 36 g, sweetness ≥ 12 °Brix, maturity < 1.2 I_AD. Typically, results showed high crop load reduced fruit weight, lowered sweetness and delayed fruit maturation and therefore failed to meet the premium grade classification (i.e. poor ‘pack-out’ performance) compared to medium and low crop load treatments irrespective of canopy system (Table 3).

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Table 4 presents production results (yield, fruit quality) for plum ‘Angeleno’ under crop load treatments (high, medium, low) for Vase and Tatura Trellis canopy systems for seasons 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively at Tatura, Victoria, Australia.

Notably, high fruit sweetness (≥ 17.2 °Brix) occurred across all seasons, canopy systems and crop load treatments. Overall, low crop load reduced final fruit number, increased fruit weight, reduced yield, increased fruit sweetness (°Brix) and decreased fruit skin redness coverage (%). The converse effect on yield and fruit quality occurred in the high crop load treatments. No consistent trends were evident in fruit flesh firmness (kgf) and fruit maturity (I_AD) among crop load or canopy system. In season 4, low fruiting levels per se under both canopy systems was a consequence of frost damage during flowering.

Characterisation of each individual fruit quality (sample size per season, n ≈ 30,000 – 50,000 fruit) was determined from a combination of fruit weight, maturity and sweetness. Fruit was classified as ‘premium’ grade when weight ≥ 70 g, sweetness ≥ 12 °Brix, maturity < 1.3 I_AD. Typically, results showed despite high sweetness, high crop load reduced fruit weight and therefore failed to meet the premium grade classification (i.e. poor ‘pack-out’ performance) compared to medium and low crop load treatments irrespective of canopy system (Table 4).

Table 4 Download PDF in new window (Note: this document does not meet WCAG 2.0 accessibility guidelines)