Effect of fruit-to-leaf area ratio on fruit quality and vegetative growth of ‘Bing’ sweet cherry trees at optimal Leaf Area Index

CITTADINI E.D., VALLES M.B., RODRIGUEZ J., VAN KEULEN H., PERI P.L.

ACTA HORTICULTURAE

International Society for Horticultural Science

Lugar: Belgium; Año: 2008 vol. 795 p. 677 - 680

0567-7572

Fruit yield and quality determine grower income from commercial sweet cherry orchards. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Fruit Number to Leaf Area Ratio (FNLAR, fruit m-2 LA) on Mean Fruit Weight (MFW), firmness (F), soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and SSC:TA ratio of ‘Bing’ sweet cherries trees of near-optimal leaf area index (LAI). The effect of FNLAR on Mean Shoot Growth (MSG) and trunk cross-sectional area increment (TCSAI) also was analysed to determine possible competition between reproductive and vegetative growth. Regression analysis was used with FNLAR as the independent variable. While SSC:TA, MSG and TCSAI were not significantly correlated to FNLAR (P>0.05), MFW, TA and SSC decreased linearly with increasing FNLAR (P<0.05), at a rate of 0.02881 g, 0.0272 ml NaOH and 0.0649% per FNLAR unit, respectively. Firmness showed the same tendency, but the correlation was not significant (P=0.082). Knowledge of the relationship between fruit quality and FNLAR on trees of near-optimal LAI allows optimization of high yields with favourable quality.