Fruit Production Flashcards
Fruit classification
tree fruit
small fruit
Tree fruit
apples pears peaches plums cherries
Small fruit
strawberries blueberries brambles (blackberries, raspberries) grapes
Evidence of cultivation
how many years ago and major fruit origination
5,000 - 7,000 years ago apple originated from Kazakhstan peach from China Grape from Republic of Georgie Blueberry from North America
Difference between fruit crops and annual row crops
product quality more important than quantity
year round environment is important
- perennial plants, live 25 years or longer
- winter cold and spring frost can be damaging
- concerns over climate change
production is much more intense and labor concerns
marketings is much more complicated
corn and beans vs apples total income per acre
corn/soybeans = $1,000 apples = $16,000
Different types of fruit damage
frost damage
heat damage
Sunlight interception is critical
high and low
sunlight is directly proportional to yield
ideal tree shape
wide bottom narrow top branches well spaced good branch angles tree support
gives good light distribution to trees
Other ways to manually increase sunlight
pruning and training to increase sunlight interception and dispersion
Size-controlling rootstocks for apples
smaller trees are more efficient
problems with rootstocks
incompatibility
fireblight
self-sterile fruits
apple
pear
plums
self-fertile fruits
cherries peach apricot grape brambles strawberry blueberry
Flower morphology of apple
stigma style anther filament sepal ovary ovule embryo sac nectar-secretory glands
Incomplete pollination
when some of the ovules are pollinated and some are not
insufficient pollination limits the number of seeds that can be formed, can also have a large impact on the amount of fruit produced per plant
dependency of strawberry pollination
strawberry flowers only partially dependent on pollinators
Grape flowers depend of what type of pollination
wind pollination
Pests and fruits
fruit crops are susceptible to a wide range of disease and insect pests
sound, disease and insect damage-free fruit is necessary to reduce post harvest losses during storage, shipment and marketing
consumers expect perfect, blemish free fruit
USDA grade standards prohibit use or sale of damaged fruit
EPA regulates pesticides use in crops
Asian lady beetles are attracted to what condition of fruit
damaged fruit
Dirty dozen
strawberries spinach kale nectarines apples grapes peaches cherries pears tomatoes celery potatoes
Automation in fruit production
causing growers to redesign plantings to fit machines
new pruning and training systems need to be developed
new cultivars may be needed to tolerant mechanical handling
Fruit marketing
large fruit producing region
wholesale market sell through broker or packing house sell just the product less than 30% returned to grower producer remote from consumer
Fruit marketing
small fruit producing region
retail or direct market
sell directly to consumer
100% returned to grower
immediate feedback from consumer
opportunities to “sell the farm experience”
-other attractions, entertainment and agritourism
