Yield and Economic Results of Different Mechanical Pruning Strategies on “Navel Foyos” Oranges in the Mediterranean Area

Pruning is one of the most manpower-consuming agricultural operations in citrus production. Mechanical pruning can help to reduce pruning time and costs. In order to obtain the knowledge of its effects on the important orange variety “Navel Foyos”, several pruning strategies that include manual prun...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chueca, Patricia, Mateu, Guillermo, Garcerá, Cruz, Fonte, Alberto, Ortiz, Coral, Torregrosa, Antonio
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: MDPI 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/7081
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/1/82
Description
Summary:Pruning is one of the most manpower-consuming agricultural operations in citrus production. Mechanical pruning can help to reduce pruning time and costs. In order to obtain the knowledge of its effects on the important orange variety “Navel Foyos”, several pruning strategies that include manual pruning and various intensities of mechanical pruning were tested for three years. The results showed that in “Navel Foyos” oranges, the mechanical pruning strategies did not affect the yield nor the size of the fruit in comparison with manual pruning. In conclusion, mechanical strategies are a potential alternative to manual pruning because they reduce the time necessary to prune and the pruning costs, thereby maintaining or even increasing the yield.