Fruit Crop Ecology and Management - UVM Apple Orchard

14
The fruit plant
James A. Flore, Jose E. Sanchez,
Dario Stefanelli, Roberto J.
Zoppolo and George W. Bird
The fruit plant is a constantly
evolving factory that utilizes
ecosystem resources to
produce fruit. It is important to
understand how this factory
works and which factors can
be controlled to achieve the
best plant performance with
the highest quality fruit. In all
plants, photosynthesis is the
cornerstone of growth and
development.
Life depends on energy
captured from the sun.
Photosynthesis is the process
used to capture this energy
and make it available. During
photosynthesis, carbon dioxide
is taken from the air and
combined with water in green
leaves. Using the sun’s energy,
the plant produces carbo-
Fruit Crop Ecology and Management: Chapter 1
Black raspberries ripening in the sun.
R. Isaacs
hydrates (sugars and starch),
proteins, oils and fibers, and
releases oxygen as a
byproduct. The leaves are the
most important structures
responsible for trapping energy
and producing carbohydrates
used throughout the plant.
More than 90 percent of a
plant’s dry matter is carbon.
Conceptual plant growth and survival curve.
Every factor influencing growth, reproduction and survival has
an optimum level. Above and below the optimum, stress
increases until survival becomes impossible at the limits of
tolerance. The total range between the high and low limits is the
range of tolerance. (Adapted from Wright & Nebel, The
Structure of Ecosystems, pg. 41, Fig. 2-17.)