Abstract
Long-term productivity of commercial pecan [ Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] enterprises in relatively low-light environments such as the southeastern United States are limited by excessive tree crowding as orchards age. An effective horticultural strategy for countering this problem in relatively high-light environments is mechanical hedge-type pruning; however, uncertainty persists regarding the best strategies in low-light environments. This report describes the results of a 4-year study regarding the response of ≈25-year-old ‘Desirable’ pecan trees to different mechanical hedgerow-type, moderate canopy width (i.e., 2.43-m cuts from tree axis) pruning strategies. Canopy treatments were nonpruned control (NPC), annual dormant season side-hedge pruning on two faces, annual summer season side-hedge pruning on two faces, and alternating annual dormant season side-hedge pruning on a single alternating face. Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies: 1) reduced in-shell nut yields by roughly 19% to 38%; 2) reduced marketable nut-meat yield by ≈19% to 36%; 3) failed to stimulate shoot development or fruiting within the central interior zone of tree canopies; 4) increased kernel percentage of nuts; 5) increased nut-meat grade; 6) substantially reduced alternate bearing intensity ( I = 0.51 to ≈0.20); and 7) reduced orchard crowding. Pruning-associated reductions in nut yield appear sufficient to limit the commercial usefulness of annual or biennial mechanical hedgerow-type pruning of ‘Desirable’ pecan orchards at moderate canopy widths in relatively low-light environments such as the southeastern United States.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
All three mechanical hedge pruning strategies reduced in-shell nut yields of pecan by roughly 19% to 38% relative to the nonpruned control.
- Taxon
- Pecan
_1_(24790682337).jpg?width=60)
Carya illinoinensist0 - Treatment
- all three pruning strategiese0
- Outcome
- in-shell nut yieldse1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- 19% to 38%e1
- Comparator
- NPC treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
_1_(24790682337).jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies”
e1“reduced in-shell nut yields by roughly 19% to 38%”
t0“Pecan”
Claim · model-written summary
All three pruning strategies reduced marketable nut-meat yield of pecan by about 19% to 36% relative to the nonpruned control.
- Taxon
- PecanCarya illinoinensist0
- Treatment
- all three pruning strategiese0
- Outcome
- marketable nut-meat yielde1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- ≈19% to 36%e1
- Comparator
- NPC treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies”
e1“reduced marketable nut-meat yield by ≈19% to 36%”
t0“Pecan”
Claim · model-written summary
None of the three pruning strategies stimulated shoot development or fruiting within the central interior zone of pecan tree canopies.
- Taxon
- PecanCarya illinoinensist0
- Treatment
- all three pruning strategiese0
- Outcome
- shoot development or fruiting within the central interior zone of tree canopiese1
- Direction
- failed to stimulatee1
- Comparator
- NPC treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies”
e1“failed to stimulate shoot development or fruiting within the central interior zone of tree canopies”
t0“Pecan”
Claim · model-written summary
All three pruning strategies increased the kernel percentage of nuts and the nut-meat grade of pecan relative to the nonpruned control.
- Taxon
- PecanCarya illinoinensist0
- Treatment
- all three pruning strategiese0
- Outcome
- kernel percentage of nuts; 5) increased nut-meat gradee1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Comparator
- NPC treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies”
e1“increased kernel percentage of nuts; 5) increased nut-meat grade”
t0“Pecan”
Claim · model-written summary
All three pruning strategies substantially reduced alternate bearing intensity of pecan (I = 0.51 to about 0.20).
- Taxon
- PecanCarya illinoinensist0
- Treatment
- all three pruning strategiese0
- Outcome
- alternate bearing intensitye1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Value
- 0.51 to ≈0.20e1
- Comparator
- NPC treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies”
e1“substantially reduced alternate bearing intensity ( I = 0.51 to ≈0.20)”
t0“Pecan”
Claim · model-written summary
All three pruning strategies reduced orchard crowding relative to the nonpruned control.
- Taxon
- PecanCarya illinoinensist0
- Treatment
- all three pruning strategiese0
- Outcome
- orchard crowdinge1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Comparator
- NPC treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Relative to the NPC treatment, all three pruning strategies”
e1“reduced orchard crowding”
t0“Pecan”
Claim · model-written summary
Reductions in nut yield limit the commercial usefulness of annual or biennial mechanical hedgerow-type pruning of Desirable pecan at moderate canopy widths in low-light environments such as the southeastern United States.
- Taxon
- PecanCarya illinoinensist0
- Outcome
- commercial usefulness of annual or biennial mechanical hedgerow-type pruninge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Pruning-associated reductions in nut yield appear sufficient to limit the commercial usefulness of annual or biennial mechanical hedgerow-type pruning”
t0“Pecan”
The same questions in other papers
pruning · growth · Carya illinoinensis (pecan)Results differ
10 papers in the same direction as this paper · 17 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
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See all 28 papers →pruning · yield · Carya illinoinensis (pecan)Results differ
10 papers in the same direction as this paper · 18 in the opposite direction
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See all 29 papers →pruning · quality: postharvest · Carya illinoinensis (pecan)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.