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- Author or Editor: George M. Greene x
- Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science x
Mature peach trees were grown in six different-sized vegetation-free areas (VFAs) (0.36 to 13 m2) with and without stage 3 drip irrigation for 6 years. As VFA size increased, so did the trunk cross-sectional area, canopy diameter, total yield/tree, large fruit yield/tree, and pruning weight/tree. The yield efficiency of total fruit and large fruit initially increased with the increasing size of VFAs and then remained stable over the range of VFAs. Applying supplemental irrigation increased yield of large fruit and leaf N percentage in all VFAs. Cold hardiness was not affected by VFA size or irrigation treatment. The smaller VFAs resulted in smaller, equally efficient trees. Sod management was an effective, low-cost approach to controlling peach tree size, and, when combined with irrigated, high-density production, potentially increased productivity.