CANOPY HEDGING, TOPPING, AND SKIRTING EFFECTS ON YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF VALENCIA ORANGES

摘要

A 5-year hedging, topping, and skirting experiment was conducted in 9-year-old Rohde Red Valencia (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck.) orange on Carrizo citrange (C. sinensis x P. trifoliate) rootstock to investigate their effect on yield and fruit quality. Spring hedging resulted in higher juice brix than did fall hedging, but there were no consistent differences in yield. Compared to flat topping at 15 ft, flat topping at 12 ft reduced juice brix and pound solids/box, but yield was not consistently reduced. Angle topping resulted in consistently higher yield than did flat topping. Compared to no skirting, skirting at 20 and 36 inches high had no consistent effects on yield and fruit quality. Those in the business of growing and producing Florida citrus have always sought methods of maximizing returns from their plantings. In the 1960s, growers began planting higher density (more trees per acre) groves in hopes of achieving early returns on their investment and higher yields. Planting more trees/acre andthe pressure from harvesters to reduce tree height, however, required growers to adopt hedging and topping of canopies as methods of tree size control.