Principle of Fruit Growing

• FRUIT-GROWING and pomology are

synonymous terms. They comprise the
whole art of raising fruits and fruit
trees, and the applications of the
various sciences thereto.
Figure 1-4 Principal areas of deciduos fruit and nut production. In both
hemispheres, they lie mostly within latitudes 30 0 to 500 but are extended into
higher latitudes by the moderating influence of nearby bodies of water, and into
lower latitudes by the cooling influence of higher elevations.
Figure 2 Major citrus growing regions
 Table 1. The nutrient content of some fruits
Food
substance = 100 g energy water fiber fat protein sugar vit.A vit.C vit.B1 vit.B2 vit.B6 vit.E

kJ/Kcal % g g g g ug mg mg mg mg mg

Apple 207/49 84 2.3 0 0.4 11.8 2 15 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.5

Apricot 153/36 87 2.1 0 1.0 8.0 420 5 0.06 0.05 0.06 0.5

Avocado 523/126 81 0.2 10 2.0 7.0 20 17 0.06 0.12 0.36 3.2

Blueberry 204/48 80 8.4 0 1.0 11.0 0 10 0.02 0.03 0.05 1.9

Blackberry 170/40 85 8.7 0 2.0 8.0 30 150 0.08 0.04 0.07 1.0

Banana 375/88 76 2.7 0 1.2 20.4 3 10 0.04 0.03 0.36 0.3

Cranberry 68 /16 89 4.2 0 0.0 4.0 0 15 0.00 0.01 0.07 0

Cherry 221/52 86 1.2 0 0.0 13.0 40 10 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.1

Date 1275/300 20 7.5 0 2.0 73.0 0 0 0.05 0.10 0.10 0.7

Fig 340/80 80 2.0 0 1.0 19.0 10 3 0.06 0.05 0.11 -

Grapefruit, Red 128/30 90 1.4 0 0.9 6.6 0 40 0.07 0.02 0.03 0.5

Grapes 274/64 83 2.2 0 0.6 15.5 0 3 0.03 0.01 0.08 0.6

Guava 306/72 81 5.3 0 1.0 17.0 30 218 0.04 0.04 0.14 -

Source: Nevo table 1996, Nevo Foundation, Netherlands Nutrition Centre

Food
substance = 100 g energy water fiber fat protein sugar vit.A vit.C vit.B1 vit.B2 vit.B6 vit.E

kJ/Kcal % g g g g ug mg mg mg mg mg

Gooseberry 170/40 88 3.2 0 1.0 9.0 0 30 0.02 0.01 0.08 0.4

Kiwi Fruit 168/40 84 2.1 0 1.1 8.8 5 70 0.01 0.02 0.12 1.9

Kumquat 289/68 82 1.5 0 1.0 16.0 160 55 0.14 0.06 - -

Lemon 51/12 96 1.8 0 0.0 3.0 0 40 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.8

Lime 156/37 91 0.3 0 0.0 7.0 0 40 0.03 0.02 0.08 -

Lychee 323/76 82 1.5 0 1.0 18.0 0 39 0.05 0.05 - -

Mandarin/ 177/42 88 1.9 0 0.9 9.5 12 30 0.08 0.03 0.084 0.4
Tangerine
Mango 255/60 84 1.0 0 0.0 15.0 210 53 0.05 0.06 0.13 1.0

Olive 586/142 75 4.4 14 1.0 3.0 50 0 0.03 0.08 0.00 2.0

Orange 198/47 87 1.8 0 1.0 10.6 2 49 0.07 0.03 0.06 0.1

Papaya 136/32 91 0.6 0 0.0 8.0 40 46 0.03 0.04 0.04 -

Passion Fruit 158/37 88 3.3 0.4 2.6 5.8 125 23 0.03 0.12 - 0.5

Peach 151/36 89 1.4 0 1.0 7.9 15 7 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.0

Pear 201/47 86 2.1 0 0.3 11.5 0.0 4 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.1
Persimmon 325/76 81 0.5 0 0.5 18.6 260 16 0.02 0.03 - -
Pineapple 211/50 84 1.2 0 0.4 12.0 20 25 0.07 0.02 0.09 0.1

Pomegranate 343/81 82 3.4 0 1.0 17.0 10 7 0.05 0.02 0.31 -

Plum 177/42 84 2.2 0 0.8 9.6 18 5 0.02 0.03 0.10 0.7

Strawberry 99/23 91 2.2 0 0.7 5.1 10 60 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.4

Source: Nevo table 1996, Nevo Foundation, Netherlands Nutrition Centre

Table 2. The nutrient content of some tree nuts

Based on a one-ounce ALMOND BRAZIL CASHEW HAZELNUT

portion (28,35 g)
Calories 163 186 157 178
Protein (g) 6.0 4.1 5.2 4.2
Total Fat (g) 14.0 18.8 12.4 17.2
Carbohydrates (g) 6.1 3.5 8.6 4.7
Dietary Fiber (g) 3.5 2.1 0.9 2.7
Vitamin B6 (mg) 0 0 0.1 0.2
Folate (mgc) 14 6 7 32
Riboflavin (mg) 0.3 0 0 0
Niacin (mg) 1.0 0.1 0.3 0.5
Potassium (mg) 200 187 187 193
Magnesium (mg) 76 107 83 46
Zinc (mg) 0.9 1.2 1.6 0.7
Iron (mg) 1.1 0.7 1.9 1.3
Calcium (mg) 75 45 10 32
 Based on a one- MACADAMIA PECAN PISTACHIO WALNUT
ounce portion
(28,35 g)
Calories 204 196 159 185
Protein (g) 2.2 2.6 5.8 4.3
Total Fat (g) 21.5 20.4 12.9 18.5
Carbohydrates (g) 3.9 3.9 7.8 3.9
Dietary Fiber (g) 2.4 2.7 2.9 1.9
Vitamin B6 (mg) 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.2
Folate (mgc) 3 6 14 28
Riboflavin (mg) 0 0 0 0
Niacin (mg) 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.3
Potassium (mg) 104 116 291 125
Magnesium (mg) 37 34 34 45
Zinc (mg) 0.4 1.3 0.6 0.9
Iron (mg) 1.1 0.7 1.1 0.8
Calcium (mg) 24 20 30 28

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2010. USDA National Nutrient Database
for Standard Reference, Release 23. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl
The red number indicates the highest value
Figure 2-1 Major climatic regions of the world. The main areas of deciduous fruit
and nut production lie between latiyudes 300 and 500 in both hemispheres.
Figure 2-9 The exchange of energy between plant and environment. Plants that
are not adapted to a particular environmentare often killed by stresses imposed
by such energy exchanges.
Table 3-4 Pear cultivars of the world and their important characteristics
Figure 3-1 Useful botanical terms, (A) Specific types and margins of leaves
Figure 3-1 Useful botanical terms, (B) inflorescence types the raceme, corymb, panicle
and umbel are indeterminate, with basal flowers opening first; the cyme is determinate, (C)
The basic flower types: the superior ovary with hypogynous insertion of staments, petals
and sepals; the perigynous insertion on the hypanthium; the inferior ovary with epigynous
insertion of the corolla above the ovary on receptacle tissue, (D) Bud arrangement:
opposite and alternate types; also, leaf and flower buds of some stone fruits.
Figure 3-1 Useful botanical terms, (E) The seven main fruit types: A poem, such as the
pear, is derived from the fusion of ovary and receptacle. A drupe, such as the peach, is a
one-seeded fruit derived entirely from an ovary. A nut, such as the walnut, is derived from
the fusion of ovary and perianth. A multiple fruit, such as syconium of the fig, is derived
from the fusion of many ovaries and receptacles of many flowers. An aggregate fruit,
such as the blackberry, is derived from many ovaries of a single flower. A berry, such as
grape, is a multiseeded fruit derived from a single ovary. An epigynous or false berry, sucj
as blueberry, is a multiseeded fruit derived from the fusion of ovary and receptacle.
Figure 3-4 Buds, flowers and fruit of (A, B, C) fig and (D, E) mulberry. Flowers are borne
laterally at the nodes. Fig bears its flowers inside a pyriform receptacle; mullberry
produces flowers in a stalked catkin (flowers and fruit are seen in E). Both are multiple
fruits.
Figure 3-5 Buds, flowers
and nuts of (A, B, C)
walnut, (D, E, F) pistachio
and (G, H, I) pecan. The
walnut and pecan are
monoecious and the
pistachio is dioecious.
Walnut male flower are
borne laterally on one-year
wood; female flowers
(shown in B) are in
racemes, usually terminal.
Pistachio bears both types
of flowers in panicles from
one-year lateral buds. (In
E, male flowers are on the
left, female flowers are on
the right.) The fruit type for
both species is drupaceous
nut.
Figure 3-6 Buds, flowers
and nuts of (A, B, C, D)
filbert and (E, F, G, H)
chestnut. Both are
monoecious. The filbert
bears male flowers in
lateral catkins (shown in
B) and female flowers in
lateral buds of one-year
wood (shown in C).
Chestnut flowers (shown
in F and G) are borne
laterally on new spring
growth. (A single female
flower is shown in G).
Figure 3-8 Buds, flowers and fruit of Rubus: (A, B, C) blackberry, and (D, E, F) red
raspberry. Flowers are borne from mixed buds on one-year canes, in an indeterminate
inflorescence, Aggregate fruit formed by many drupelets.
Figure 3-10 Buds, flowers and fruit of Ribes: (A, B, C) currant and (D, E, F)
gooseberry. Currant flowers are borne in racemes from twig buds on two- and
three-year wood. Gooseberry flowers are from similar buds, usually solitary. Fruit
type is a many-seeded epigynous berry in both species.
Figure 3-11 (A, B, C) Buds, flowers and fruit of grape.Flowers are borne oppsite
the leaves on new shoots arising from buds on one-year canes. The inflorescence
is racemose panicle, and the fruit a two to four-seeded true berry.
Table 4-1 Methods of rootstock (or plant) propagation for temperate fruits and nuts.
Table 4-2 Size, chilling requirement, and other characteristics of seeds of some fruit
and nut species, including some species used only as rootstocks.
Table 4-2 (continued)
Table 4-2 (continued)
Table 4-3 Tree size (cross-section in square centimeters) at fourteen years, and
annual yield in metric tons per hectare (years 10-14) for six apple cultivars grown on
eight rootstocks.
Figure 4-1 Propagation by seeds. (A) A
cross of a stratification box filled withmoist
sand, perlite, or peat between the layers of
seed, which must be kept moist during
chilling. (B) Both chilling and washing of pear
seed are necessary to good germination.
The seed at left were chilled but not washed;
those at right were chilled and washed. (C)
Seedcoat removal only permits germination,
but without chilling there is no epicotyl
elongation. Plant at right had complete
chilling prior to germination.
Figure 4-2 (A) Natural tip layering
of black raspberry. (B) The
beneficial effect of wounding or
girdling on rooting. The latter
treatments are used when tip
layering difficult-to-root plants.
Figure 4-3 (A - F) Mound layering, showing the two-year sequence from the time
of planting the original stock (shown in A) through the removal of rooted layers in
the early spring of the thrid year (shown in F). Sawdust is the preferred material
for mounding because it is much easier to work with than soil.
Figure 4-4 Budding and grafting. (A) The most common
budding method is the T (or shield) bud, in which a shield
containing the bud is cut from the budstick and inserted into
a T cut on the stock. (B) Other types of bud grafting. (C) The
common whip graft. (D) the cleft graft. (E) The bark graft, in
which the bark is split to assure cambium-to-cambium
contact. (F) The bridge grafts to repair trunk damage.
Figure 4-9 The three genearal types of graft union. (A) The stock and scion are of
equal size. (B) The scion overgrows the stock. (C) The stock overgrows the scion.
Although the scion overgrows the stock in most incompatible unions, a large
number of overgrown unions are perfectly compatible. Overgrowth or undergrowth
of the scion is more related to the genetic tendency for growth than to compatibility.
Figure 4-10 Diagrammatic
representation of root
devlopment of an apple tree in
good soils. Roots normally will
spread two to three times as far
as the top. Downward growth
of roots would stop at a
permanent water table or at an
impervious layer of subsoil.
 Figure 4-12 Approximate relative size of apple trees on different rootstocks. The
clonal stocks originated in Canada (Robusta-5), Sweeden (Alnarp-2) and England
(M and MM series). The M 27 stock, not shown, is even more dwarfing M 9.

Figure 4-13 Approximate relative size of pear cultivars on number of clonal and seedling
stocks. The special blight-resistant Old Home x Farmingdale (OH x F) clones were
obtained from rooted cutting.
Figure 4-15 Approximate relative size of sweet-cherry cultivars on number of clonal and
seedling rootstocks, including Pr. avium, Pr. mahaleb, Pr. cerasus and mazzard x
mahaleb ( M x M) hybrids.

Figure 4-16 Approximate relative size of Montmorency sour cherry on number of clonal
stocks, including Pr. avium (mazzard), Pr. mahaleb and hybrids of mazzard and
mahaleb ( M x M).
Figure 4-17 Approximate relative size of plum and prune cultivars on several
rootstocks..The most common stocks used are peach, myrobolan and marianna. The
dwarf Pr. tomentosa stock induces a high incidence of Pseudomonas canker on the
scion trunk (Westwood et al., 1973).

Figure 4-18 Approximate relative size of peachcultivars on several rootstocks..Peach

seedling is the usual rootstock used. Some plum species stocks are not compatible
with peach.
Figure 5-1 An example of a multiple-filler system with orderly tree removal at intervals
in the life of planting. (A) The initial planting is a rectangular pattern spaced 2 x 3 m.
After crowding occurs, filler trees (dark circles) are removed, resulting in (B) a new
rectangle of 3 x 4 m. When crowding occurs the second time, the semipermanent tree
(the dark circles) are removed, leaving © permanent trees at 4 x 6 m.
Figure 5-4 Contour planting is often used on upland slopes or on rolling land
above frostly valley-floor sites. Arrows indicate the steepest slope, which is the
starting point for laying out the contour rows. Whereever the distance between
two contour lines exceeds twice the chosen distance between rows, short rows
(indicated by X’s) are used to fill the gaps.
Figure 5-7 (A) Types of leader training and height of head. (B) Desirable wide-angled
branch (arrows) on a tree trained to a low-headed modified leader, (C) The narrowing of
branch angles with age.
Figure 5-8 (A) Generally accepted practise of training a modified leader tree during the
first four seasons. (B) The pattern of growth expected when the unbranched tree is
headed back at planting and allowed to grow without further training the first season.
The upper branches are the most vigorous and have the narrowest crotch angles; the
dominance of the upper branches creates the hormonal balance that results in the wider
branch angles and shorter growth of the lower branches.
Figure 5-9 Delayed heading sequence. (A) Heading back at planting. (B) Delayed
heading (when new growth is about 15 – 20 cm long) to remove narrow-angled shoots
and to stimulate growth of the wide-angled branches below. (C) Growth at the end of
first season. (D) First dormant pruning to retain only four strong branches. This
procedure permits the primary training to be complete after the first season.
Figure 5-10 Longitudinal section of a strong wide-angled branch (left), contrasted to a
narrow-angled crotch (right), which is weak because of bark inclusions and
discontinuous xylem.
Figure 5-11 The method of Heinicke (1975) for training high-density trees during the
first five years requires much more pruning than is normally done on young trees but
may be satisfactory if trees are on a dwarf, precocious rootstock. The following
description is taken from the original USDA figure- First year: Remove all competing
shoots. Head back the terminal shoot. Second year: Select and head the lateral
branches. Remove unnecessary laterals. Third year: Spread the branches, remove
forked terminals to a single shoot, and head that shoot. Head side shoots. Fourth year:
Spread the branches, remove forked terminals to a single shoot, and head that shoot.
Head side shoots. Fifth and following years: If the tree has filled its allotted space, head
back where necessary into two-year-old wood to an unheaded side shoot. Avoid
heading cuts into one-year-old shoots until the tree is fruiting well.
Figure 6-6 (A) Pattern of wetting
from trickle irrigation (B) A trickle
system outlined for an orchard.
The main line, with screen and
pressure regulator, ties into the
header line, which feeds half-inch
laterals along the rows, with an
emitter at each tree.
Figure 6-8 Both physical and
biological processes are
essential to the life of the soil.
Plants remove water and
mineral nutrients from the soil
and combine them with carbon
dioxide from the air to form
complex organic substances.
Much of this organic matter
eventually returns to the soil,
where it decomposes to
release nutrients for a new
cycle. If intensive agriculture is
practiced, additional minerals
are often needed to get best
use of the land and incident
solar energy.
Figure 6-14 (A) Leaf sampling for
mineral analysis should utilize the
leaves in the mid-region of current
shoots for most species. (B) With
walnuts, a mid-leaflet from the
middle of a fruiting terminal shoot
should be used.
Figure 6-24 Effect of pruning on the size of six-year-old apple trees. (A) This tree was
not pruned. (B) This tree received moderate pruning.
Figure 6-25 The plant framework indicating terms used in pruning.
Figure 6-28 Peach trees are pruned by (A) thinning-out cuts throughout the tree rather
than by (B) severe thinning plus heading back. (C) Properly pruned trees produce more
fruit of better color than do (D) severely pruned ones.
Figure 6-29 Mechanical pruning. (A) The sickle-bar
mower may be used (B) to top hedgerows at the
desired height and (C) to taper the sides. Mechanical
pruning can be supplemented by hand pruning if
desired. (D) An end-view of the hedgerow shows the
modified ‘’Christmas tree’’ shape.
Figure 6-30 Grape pruning systems. (A) Unpruned. (B) Pruned to six-cane Kniffen
system. (C) Fan system. (D) Horizontal-arm spur system. (E) Geneva double-curtain
system, with a lower center wire to support the trunks and two upper side wires to
support the fruiting canes. (F) The head system with spur pruning, used primarily for
vinifera cultivars in California.
Figure 6-31
Pruning and
training systems
for caneberries.
(A, B, C)
Blackberry and
other trailing
Rubus species.
(D)Black
raspberry and
upright
blackberry. (E, F,
G) red raspberry.