Abstract
To obtain robust and extensible experimental results on the agronomic
convenience of mechanical pruning of old bush trained hazelnut orchards in
Piedmont, during the period 2006-2010 four trials to compare mechanical, manual
and no pruning trees were made in 4 representative locations (=orchards). The
orchards, located on flat or sloping grounds and growing TGL trees 6 to 18 years
old, were pruned in March or in September, obtaining for each location 6 plots of
10-15 trees replicated twice and pruned once during the period 2006-2008.
Observations generally regarded: pruning duration (s/tree) and amount of pruned
wood; yielding and nut quality for at least 3 years after pruning operations. The
results of the four trials were the following:
- mechanical pruning duration was 1.4-3.9% higher than that of manual pruning.
These figures can increase to 8-10% if device position time, manual finishing of
larger cuts and desuckering are also considered;
- the cumulative yield, 4 years after pruning operations, is equal but often greater
for the mechanically pruned trees compared to non-pruned or manually pruned
ones. These results are evidenced both in March and September trials. The
cumulative production of manually pruned trees reached the amounts of the nonpruned
plots only after 4-5 years. The convenience of pruning both by mechanical
or manual system is evident starting from the first year after the cuts because of
the better technological traits of nuts (e.g., seed weight, commercial rate, incidence
of external and internal defects). However, these results are not registered for the
younger orchard.
Lingua originale | English |
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Titolo della pubblicazione ospite | Acta Horticolturae - Proc. VIIIth International Congress on Hazelnut |
Pagine | 207-214 |
Numero di pagine | 8 |
DOI | |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2014 |
Evento | VIIIth International Congress on Hazelnut - Temuco Durata: 19 mar 2012 → 22 mar 2012 |
Convegno
Convegno | VIIIth International Congress on Hazelnut |
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Città | Temuco |
Periodo | 19/3/12 → 22/3/12 |
Keywords
- fruit quality
- fruit yielding
- old hazelnut orchards