The Distribution of Relative Light Intensity in a Peach Tree Canopy Affects Fruit Yield and Texture

Light is crucial to the uniform production of high-quality fruit since it is the driving force for leaf photosynthesis and hence overall plant nutrition.The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the distribution of relative light intensity in the peach tree(Prunus persica)canopy and the yield and texture of peach fruits.The canopy of 7-year-old‘Qiuyan’was divided into cubical volumes and the relative light intensity distribution was measured for each cube,along with yield distribution and fruit textural properties at different growing times.The relative light intensity decreased gradually from outside to inside the canopy and from top to bottom.The yield distribution and the relative light intensity were clearly correlated.The percentage of the canopy receiving<30%relative light intensity was 49.07%in May,56.02%in June,and 58.95%in July,whereas the percentage receiving>80%relative light intensity was 32.72%,17.28%,and 10.96%,respectively.Consistent with this,peaches were found in the upper and middle portions of the canopy,within 1.5-3.0 m of the top.The regression equation showed that fruit texture index correlated significantly with relative light intensity.Relative light intensity is the main factor affecting peach yield and texture and must be above 41.83%for good peach quality.Orchardists should carefully plan summer pruning strategies to adjust the number and spatial distribution of branches accordingly.

Relationships Between the Distribution of Relative Canopy Light Intensity and the Peach Yield and Quality

The aim of the present experiment was to study the relationship between the distribution of relative light intensity in canopy and yield and quality of Wanmi peach. The optimum relative canopy light intensity was judged to be 36.3% for high quality peaches, when canopy volumes of Wanmi peach trees with a relative light intensity 〈 30% accounted for 7.7 and 47.9% of the total canopy volume in June and September, respectively. The canopy volume with a relative light intensity 〉 80% was 27.7 and 3.1% of the total canopy volume in June and September, respectively. Peach canopies were divided into 0.5 m × 0.5 m × 0.5 m cubes, with the relative light intensity being measured at different positions of the canopy during the growing season. Yield and fruit quality were also measured at these positions at harvest. The results showed that the relative light intensity decreased gradually from outside to inside and from top to bottom of the tree canopy. Fruit were mainly distributed in the upper and middle portions of the canopy, 1.5-3.0 m above ground. Regression results showed that single fruit weight and soluble solid content were positively related to relative light intensity.

Direct measurement of the three-dimensional distribution of leaf area density and light conditions in a mature oak stand by the cube method

Although the distributions of foliage and light play major roles in various forest functions,accurate,nondestructive measurement of these distributions is difficult due to the complexity of the canopy structure.To evaluate the foliage and light distributions directly and nondestructively in a mature oak stand,we used the cube method by dividing the forest canopy into small cubes(50 cm per side)and directly measured leaf area density(LAD,the total one-sided leaf area per unit volume,i.e.,cube)and relative irradiance(RI)within each cube.The distribution of LAD and of RI was highly heterogeneous,even at the same canopy height.This heterogeneity reflected the presence of foliage clusters associated with multiple forking branches.The relationship between cumulative LAD at the canopy surface and average RI followed the Beer-Lambert law.The mean light extinction coefficient(K)was 0.32.However,K was overestimated by more than double(0.80)when calculated based on the classical method using RI at the forest floor.This overestimation was caused by the lower RI due to light absorption by nonleaf plant parts below the canopy.Our findings on the complex foliage and light distributions in canopy layers should help improve the accuracy of RI and K measurements and thus more accurate predictions of environmental responses and forest functions.