V-Mango: a functional–structural model of mango tree growth, development and fruit production

Abstract

Background and Aims Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is the fifth most widely produced fruit in the world. Its cultivation, mainly in tropical and sub-tropical regions, raises a number of issues such as the irregular fruit production across years, phenological asynchronisms that lead to long periods of pest and disease susceptibility, and the heterogeneity of fruit quality and maturity at harvest. To address these issues, we developed an integrative functional–structural plant model that synthesizes knowledge about the vegetative and reproductive development of the mango tree and opens up the possible simulation of cultivation practices. Methods We designed a model of architectural development in order to precisely characterize the intricate developmental processes of the mango tree. The appearance of botanical entities was decomposed into elementary stochastic events describing occurrence, intensity and timing of development. These events were determined by structural (position and fate of botanical entities) and temporal (appearance dates) factors. Daily growth and development of growth units and inflorescences were modelled using empirical distributions and thermal time. Fruit growth was determined using an ecophysiological model that simulated carbon- and water-related processes at the fruiting branch scale. Key Results The model simulates the dynamics of the population of growth units, inflorescences and fruits at the tree scale during a growing cycle. Modelling the effects of structural and temporal factors makes it possible to simulate satisfactorily the complex interplays between vegetative and reproductive development. The model allowed the characterization of the susceptibility of mango tree to pests and the investigatation of the influence of tree architecture on fruit growth. Conclusions This integrative functional–structural model simulates mango tree vegetative and reproductive development over successive growing cycles, allowing a precise characterization of tree phenology and fruit growth and production. The next step is to integrate the effects of cultivation practices, such as pruning, into the model.

Technologies for Forecasting Tree Fruit Load and Harvest Timing—From Ground, Sky and Time

“…These models typically predict fruit growth through the consideration of the tree as a set of subunits competing for resources such as light, photo-assimilates and water. The QualiTree model is probably the most advanced tree fruit mechanistic model, although attempts for other tree crops are advancing, e.g., for mango [6,7].…”

Conductivity of the phloem inMangifera indicaL.

“…Previous models evaluating the effect of stem diameter in current year branches revealed that they may predict leaf and branch conductivity (Normand and Lauri, 2012; Boudon et al ., 2020). However, this refers to the conductivity of the xylem, which constitutes most of the branch mass.…”

“…Previous models evaluating the effect of stem diameter in current year branches revealed that they may predict leaf and branch conductivity (Normand and Lauri, 2012;Boudon et al, 2020).…”

“…freezing risk) the major limiting factor for its cultivation at high latitudes (Whiley, 1992; Sukhvibul et al ., 1999; Galán Saúco, 2009; Perez et al ., 2016, 2019). However, under those conditions in which low temperatures reduce the growth of the mango trees, agronomic practices can keep mango trees at a manageable height, resulting in short trees with compacted tapering branches, which have been recently modelled (Boudon et al ., 2020). The geometry of individual branches has an impact on the productivity of mango trees, inferred from the perspective of the allometric relationships between biomass production (i.e.…”

Tree architecture and functioning facing multispecies environments: We have gone only halfway in fruit‐trees

“…Most of the knowledge of architecture and functioning of the fruit tree was developed with the aim of analyzing genetic diversity of tree shape and fruit production (Lauri and Laurens, 2005) and deciphering genetic mechanisms underlying architectural (Hollender and Dardick, 2015) and functional (e.g., hydraulics; Lauri et al, 2011) traits. These studies contributed to the development of functional structural plant models (FSPM) aimed at integrating relationships between plant architecture and physiological functions that ultimately underlie growth and development (Boudon et al, 2020). From an applied point of view, such studies are also at the origin of novel architectural‐based fruit‐tree management proposals in orchards (Lauri, 2019).…”