THE COMBINED USE OF THE INDEX OF ABSORBANCE DIFFERENCE AND THE RECONSTRUCTION MODEL PLANTTOON® TO CHARACTERIZE PEACH AND NECTARINE TRAINING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The recent availability of modeling systems capable of reconstructing tree structures and of devices that monitor the fruit ripening allow simulations that can identify cultural methods and develop “Decision Support System” tools for enhancing fruit quality and ripening homogeneity. The Index of Absorbance Difference (IAD) measures fruit maturity stage and allows monitoring of fruit ripening homogeneity in the field. The PlantToon® recreates tree architectures and the position of the fruit within tree canopies, while the IAD, indicates the ripening stage of each fruit. The non-destructive Index of Absorbance Difference (IAD) and the PlantToon® modeling system were tested in two different locations (Ferrara, Italy and Victoria, Australia) to characterize vegetative habit and yield of peach and nectarine cultivars trained to palmette and Tatura trellis systems. Fruit ripening heterogeneity was higher in the “palmette” than in “Tatura trellis”. In the palmette, riper fruit (lower IAD and higher SSC values), were located in the tree upper canopy layer. In conclusion, the use of precision horticulture methods (IAD and PlantToon®) can be used for evaluation of training systems and can represent a “Decision Support System tool” for assessing fruit quantity and quality. In addition, these tools also allow the possibility to perform simulations to exploit the cultural techniques whose effectiveness can be further verified under practical conditions.