ISHS Acta Horticulturae 449: II International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops
MODELLING THE EFFECT OF IRRIGATION ON PEACH FRUIT QUALITY |
| Authors: | M. Génard, J.G. Huguet |
| Keywords: | Prunus persica, sap flow, water balance, carbon balance, trunk shrinkage, fruit growth, sugars |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.449.21 |
| Abstract:
A semi-mechanistic model of fresh matter, dry matter and sugars accumulation in response to irrigation was developed for peach fruit. The model computes the phloemic and xylemic flows as functions of fruit weight, transpiration and water stress. Fruit transpiration and respiration were assumed to be related to fruit growth and to meteorological variables. The phloemic flow of assimilates was partitioned in sucrose, sorbitol, glucose and fructose. The rates of change of these sugars was depending on their current values and on the transfer functions between them. These functions were defined by rate constants or by functions of degree-days after full-bloom. The fruit fresh and dry matter growth were computed as the balance between fluid and dry matter flows into and out of the fruit, respectively. The concentration of each sugar was computed as the ratio of its amount into the fruit to the fruit fresh weight. The maximum daily shrinkage of the trunk, used as an indicator of tree water status, was the main input of the model. An experiment conducted on trees well watered or submitted to water stress was used for testing the model. The close agreement between simulated and field data supported our model. | |
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