Simulation of oil productivity and quality of N–S oriented olive hedgerow orchards in response to structure and interception of radiation

Abstract

Simulations of oil yield and quality are presented for N-S oriented, hedgerow olive orchards of a range of structures (viz. canopy depth, canopy width, canopy slope and row spacing) using responses of yield and quality parameters to solar irradiance on canopy walls measured in a range of orchards, cv. Arbequina, in Spain. Results reveal that orchard yield of hedgerows of rectangular shape reaches a maximum when canopy depth equals alley width (row spacing−canopy width) and decreases at wider spacing, and/or with wider canopies, as the length of productive row decreases per unit area. Maximum yields for 4-m deep canopies were 2885 kg ha−1 at 1-m width and 5-m row spacing, 2400 kg ha−1 at 2-m width and 6-m spacing, and 2050 kg ha−1 at 3-m width and 7-m spacing. Illumination of canopies can be increased by applying slopes to form rhomboidal hedgerows. Substantial yield advantage can be achieved, especially for wide hedgerows, partly by closer row spacing that increases row length per unit area. By comparison, responses to latitude in the range 30-40• are small and do not warrant different row spacing. Oil quality parameters also respond to orchard structure. Responses are presented for oleic and palmitic acid, stability, and maturity index. Oleic acid content declines as alley spacing increases and is smaller, shallow than in wide, deep canopies. Palmitic acid content, stability, and maturity index increase with row alley spacing and are greater in narrow, shallow than in wide, deep canopies.

Summer deficit irrigation in a hedgerow olive orchard cv. Arbequina: relationship between soil and tree water status, and growth and yield components

“…2), comparable with rainfed olives (Moriana et al, 2003;Tognetti et al, 2006). The hedgerow orchard had high leaf area intercepting radiation (Connor & Gómez-del-Campo, 2013) this will increase water 554 M. Gómez-del-Campo / Span J Agric Res (2013) 11 (2), 547-557 transpiration and reduce Ψ stem compared with other canopy shapes with lower leaf area (Shackel et al, 1997;Naor, 2006), as in traditional olive orchards trained in vase. High oil production and high evaporative demand conditions avoided excessive vegetative growth restricted to spring (mean shoot length of 9.6 cm, Fig.…”

“…Different irrigation strategies during shoot growth periods are appropriate depending on orchard vigour due to the high impact of irrigation on shoot growth in olive (Sofo et al, 2008). The challenge in hedgerow management is to control vegetative vigor, and geometrical characteristics to maximize productivity and allow access for harvesting machines (Connor & Gómez-del-Campo, 2013). However, care must be taken when deficit irrigation is applied during this period because shoot growth occurs at the same time as flowering, fruit set and fruit drop, so production could be reduced if deficit irrigation is applied early in this phase.…”

Effect of row spacing on vegetative structure, fruit characteristics and oil productivity of N–S and E–W oriented olive hedgerows

“…Cain (1972) developed a light model for solid hedgerows that proposed optimal irradiance on solid hedgerows with D/A = 2, while Smart et al (1990), Robinson (2011), andHadari (2004) recommend a design value for D/A near to 1 for high production and fruit quality in grape, apple, and avocado, respectively. Connor and Gómez-del-Campo (2013), who simulated radiation-limited yield response of various N-S oriented rectangular olive hedgerows, also found maximum oil yield with D/A = 1, with decrease at lower values due to shorter length of productive hedgerow per unit orchard area and slight oil yield increase at values greater than 1. There are many reports in fruit crops suggesting that light limitation in lower parts of overcrowded canopies (i.e., high D/A) reduces yield (Wheaton et al, 1995;Farina et al, 2005;He et al, 2008).…”

Cultivar and Tree Density As Key Factors in the Long-Term Performance of Super High-Density Olive Orchards

“…The vigor of the adult trees was characterized by measuring their canopy depth and width (Connor and Gómez-del-Campo, 2013) during the 12th and 13rd winters after planting. The hedgerow volume and external surface area were calculated by considering the hedgerow as a rectangular parallelepiped; we used the following equations: $\begin{array}{c}leftCanopyvolume(m^{3}h{a}^{-1})=(h-t)\times w\times r\times n\\ Externalsurfacearea(m^{2}h{a}^{-1})=[2((h-t)\times r)\\ +(w\times r)]\times n\end{array}$ Where h is the canopy height, t is the height above ground level maintained free of foliage to ease the management, w is the canopy width measured at breast height, r is the distance between trees, and n is the number of trees per hectare.…”