Studies on Parameter Extraction and Pruning of Tall-spindle Apple Trees Based on 2D Laser Scanner

Abstract

With the increasing planting area of tall-spindle apple trees, manual tree pruning has become a labor-intensive and costly part of orchard production. Thus, it is meaningful to develop mechanical pruning. In this study, the parameter extraction of tall-spindle fruit trees based on the modern laser scanning technology was carried out and two methods of tree pruning (overall tree pruning and main branch pruning) were proposed. The pruning results showed that the relative error of the DBH, tree height, and crown width were 9.27 %, 4.35 %, and 7.44 % respectively, and the RMSE were 8.78 mm, 143 mm, 116 mm respectively. In addition, the fruit tree pruning level based on the two pruning methods were quantified by tree height, crown width, branch length and space. This research was expected to provide technical support for mechanical fruit tree pruning.