S17 - Session O4 - Pruning and thinning combination effects on production and fruit quality in flat peach cultivars

Authors: Franco Capocasa, Irene Medori, Francesca Balducci, Micol Marcellini, Paolo Acciarri, Bruno Mezzetti, Luca Mazzoni *

Thinning and pruning are expensive cultural practices in peach cultivation, but essential to obtain adequate production. In this study we analyzed during two consecutive seasons the effects of combining two pruning and three thinning levels on plant yield and fruit quality of four different flat peach varieties. The main aim of the present study is to describe the best practice to be applied for increasing peach fruit sensorial and nutritional quality, without negatively affecting the plant yield. The experiment was performed in a commercial orchard on four cultivars of flat peach with white flesh, trained in Catalonian vase. Results show important interactions between crop load and cultivars for plant yield, fruit quality and nutritional values, whereas the number of branches influenced only the nutritional parameters. In general, low crop load and branch number positively affected the fruit quality, while higher crop load allowed an increase in plant yield. The findings deriving from this study will help growers to select the most suitable combination among genotype and plant management in order to obtain the desired productive or qualitative goals.