‘Esmeralda’ is an orange fleshed peach cultivar primarily used for juice extraction and secondarily used for the fresh fruit market. Fruit yield and quality depend on several local environmental and managerial factors, mainly on nitrogen, which must be balanced with other nutrients. Similar to other perennial crops, peach trees show carryover effects of carbohydrates and nutrients and of nutrients stored in their tissues. The aims of the present study are (i) to identify the major sources of seasonal variability in fruit yield and qu Fruit Tree Department of Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL), Pelotas 96010610ality; and (ii) to establish the N dose and the internal nutrient balance to reach high fruit yield and quality. The experiment was conducted from 2014 to 2017 in Southern Brazil and it followed five N treatments (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹). Foliar compositions were centered log-ratio (clr) transformed in order to account for multiple nutrient interactions and allow computing distances between compositions. Based on the feature ranking, chilling hours, degree-days and rainfall were the most influential features. Machine learning models k-nearest neighbors (KNN) and stochastic gradient decent (SGD) performed well on yield and quality indices, and reached accuracy from 0.75 to 1.00. In 2014, fruit production did not respond to added N, and it indicated the carryover effects of previously stored carbohydrates and nutrients. The plant had a quadratic response (p < 0.05) to N addition in 2015 and 2016, which reached maximum yield of 80 kg N ha⁻¹. In 2017, harvest was a failure due to the chilling hours (198 h) and the relatively small number of fruits per tree. Fruit yield and antioxidant content increased abruptly when foliar clr_Cu was >−5.410. The higher foliar P linearly decreased total titratable acidity and increased pulp firmness when clr_P > 0.556. Foliar N concentration range was narrow at high fruit yield and quality. The present results have emphasized the need of accounting for carryover effects, nutrient interactions and local factors in order to predict peach yield and nutrient dosage.

Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is an economically important crop and its cultivation has been expanded across temperate and subtropical regions of Brazil. Growing raspberries under plastic cover has becoming more common worldwide. This study investigated the effect of plastic cover on productive and morphological performance of primocane-fruiting raspberry cultivars, in southern Brazil. The experiment was arranged in a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design, with three raspberry cultivars, ‘Heritage’; ‘Fallgold’ and ‘Alemãzinha’; two cultivation systems, presence and absence of plastic cover; and two production cycles, fall and spring. We measured days from transplanting to flowering and harvesting. Plants were evaluated for dry mass of pruning, plant height, stem diameter, plant leaf area, fruit production, number of fruits, fruit weight, fruit longitudinal and transversal diameter, and harvesting period. Plastic cover reduced incident radiation on the canopy by 17 %. Cultivar ‘Heritage’ is early ripening in the fall cycle. The management under plastic cover prolonged the harvesting period of raspberries in the fall productive cycle for the cultivar ‘Heritage’ and, in spring, for cultivars ‘Alemãzinha’ and ‘Fallgold’. In the spring cycle, plants increased their leaf area, fruit production and number of fruits. The cultivar ‘Alemãzinha’ performed better in the spring cycle when managed under plastic cover and was more productive, with a longer productive cycle and larger fruits.

Obtaining high yields in strawberry crop requires the use of transplants with high sanitary and physiological quality. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the origin of strawberry transplants on quality, carbohydrate content and subsequent development and field production. Treatments covered four transplant origins: Argentina, Chile, Chuí (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and São Francisco de Paula (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and two cultivars (Camarosa and Camino Real) in experimental design of randomized blocks with four replicates, conducted between April and December 2010. Carbohydrate content in crown and roots was evaluated, as well as the growth and development of transplants and plant yield. Regardless of cultivar and origin of transplants, crown diameter values exceeding 8 mm were considered the minimum standard internationally established. Transplants propagated in Chui showed 100% mortality 20 days after planting, while losses were not recorded in Argentina and Chile transplants. Camarosa transplants from Chile showed the highest content of total soluble sugars in reserve organs, while higher starch content was obtained in Argentinean transplants. The high carbohydrate content in reserve organs in Argentina and Chile transplants led to greater fruit production.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da irrigação localizada sobre os atributos físicos e hídricos de um Argissolo cultivado com pessegueiro. O experimento foi instalado em um pomar com quatro anos, em parcelas com e sem irrigação, onde foram coletadas amostras de solo em duas camadas (0,00 a 0,05 m e 0,10 a 0,15 m), nas posições de entrelinhas no rodado e entre o rodado das máquinas, e na linha entre e sob a copa das plantas. Amostras de solo com estrutura preservada foram coletadas para avaliação da densidade, porosidade, diâmetro de agregados, condutividade hidráulica e retenção de água. Observou-se que a irrigação localizada não influenciou os atributos físicos e hídricos do solo. Porém, as posições na linha e copa apresentaram maior macroporosidade e condutividade hidráulica, e menor densidade do solo, possivelmente pela construção do camalhão na linha de plantio e por não haver trânsito de máquinas nessas posições. O trânsito de máquinas fez aumentar a densidade do solo nas entrelinhas, ocorrendo diminuição da macroporosidade, particularmente, na camada superficial na posição do rodado. O volume de água disponível foi pouco sensível em identificar diferenças em relação aos efeitos da irrigação, camada de solo e posição no pomar e das variáveis relacionadas à estrutura do solo.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da época de aplicação da cianamida hidrogenada (CH) em túnel baixo e campo aberto, na produção e no desenvolvimento de plantas de mirtileiro. O experimento consistiu na aplicação de cianamida hidrogenada em quatro épocas (29-06-12, 09-07-12, 19-07-12, 30-07-12) e dois sistemas de cultivo (túnel baixo e campo aberto), além de um tratamento adicional ou testemunha (sem aplicação de CH). O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, com três repetições, sendo a cultivar utilizada a Powderblue. As variáveis analisadas foram: início da floração, porcentagem de brotação, comprimento de ramo, massa seca das folhas, teor de clorofila, produção, massa média de frutos, diâmetro médio de frutos, sólidos solúveis. A aplicação de CH em 29-06 e 09-07 antecipou a floração e a produção. Já a brotação foi antecipada quando a CH foi aplicada em 09-07 e 19-07. Em relação aos sistemas de cultivo, observou-se que o túnel baixo antecipou a floração e aumentou a produção. Conclui-se que a aplicação de cianamida hidrogenada, no final de junho/início de julho, antecipa o início da floração, da brotação e da produção, bem como o uso do túnel baixo que antecipa a floração e aumenta a produção.