Fruit Growing: Cultivation Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture and Quality Produce

During the last decade, climate change has had a direct impact on several plant-related aspects, such as physiological processes, disease–pest frequency, yield, and the qualitative composition of fruit [1]. The fruit production industry needs to determine new strategies and establish new cultivation methods that could enhance crop production, preserve fruit quality, meet the world’s demand for food, and safeguard biodiversity [2]. It is well established that fruits are a valuable source of primary and secondary metabolites which specify their quality and taste but also play a crucial role in human nutrition [3]. Furthermore, fruit quality is characterized by traits like physical shape–morphology, color, texture, and postharvest shelf life [4]. The improvement of the latter attributes is, in many cases, the target of evolutionary breeding programs, because specific quality characteristics are desired by consumers [5]. Several preharvest cultivation practices could influence fruit developmental processes, preserve natural resources, and reallocate the distribution of nutrients from the soil to the fruits, enhancing their overall quality and nutritional value. These practices may include sophisticated irrigation regimes [6], fertigation and cover crop management [7], training systems [8], rootstock selection [9], cultivar breeding [5], crop load thinning [10], and canopy management [11]. Proper and precise production practices coupled with postharvest management could lead to more sustainable agriculture with quality produce.

The papers in this Special Issue are research articles that provide novel data on the effect of preharvest agricultural practices on fruit development and the produced quality of subtropical cultivations like citrus, mango, and vine. In the current Special Issue, two articles pinpoint how rootstock selection affects agricultural production in citrus or vines. In the review paper by Ziogas et al. [12], it was emphasized that rootstock selection in lemon cultivation is essential for the development of specific fruit quality traits, yield, and tree growth. The authors presented data on the potential use of the vigorous Yuma Ponterosa lemon and Volkameriana as an alternative to the sour orange lemon rootstock. The use of Yuma Ponterosa lemon decreased the total soluble content and total acidity of the fruit and increased the ascorbic acid content [12]. Additionally, Mahmud et al. [13] provided new data on how rootstock selection alters the seasonal dynamics and vertical distribution of new rootlets of grapevines. Their work emphasizes the fact that seasonal dynamics of root growth attributes were strongly influenced by abiotic factors and provides an insight into how rootstock genotypes may perform under changing climatic conditions [13]. Furthermore, factors that affect fruit quality were also elucidated. Manzoor et al. [14] studied the effect of harvest time on the fruit quality of Kinnow and Feutrell’s Early mandarins, which were grown in Pakistan. In their study, it was shown that Kinnow mandarin fruit attained its optimum quality traits and yield when harvested from mid-January to February, while Feutrell’s Early mandarins were shown to have their best quality parameters when harvested from mid-December to mid-January [14]. Additionally, articles were presented which provide novel data concerning strategies for alleviating the negative effect of the climate crisis via cultivar modulation. In the work of Narakulla et al. [15], a novel method was proposed for the induction of polyploidy in Rangpur lime, Rough lemon, and Alemow citrus rootstocks as a technique to assist better adaptation to environmental stresses. It was proposed that treatment with 0.1% colchicine for 24 h resulted in high rates of mutation for polyploidization and exhibited the highest tetraploid induction percentage in all three rootstocks [15]. Also, two articles present methods that, when implemented, could favor fruit quality and yield. Narukulla et al. [16] presented a procedure via which triploid seedless Nagpur mandarins were developed. This work presented the feasibility of producing triploid seedless Nagpur mandarins via the use of tissue culture techniques, viz. endosperm rescue, somatic embryogenesis, regeneration, and mini-grafting. This is the first study of its kind to report successful citrus triploid breeding in India via the use of this technique [16]. The development of seedless mandarin varieties is needed since it enhances the potential trade of this agricultural commodity. In the work by Mahmud et al. [17], a novel cultivation practice for mango fruit was proposed. The latter group studied the light relations and yield in commercial mango orchards trained with five planting systems. Their results indicated that in the high-density intensive training system, light penetration increased with canopy volume and yield, with the high-density espalier system intercepting more available light [17]. Furthermore, in the work by Al-Saif [18], the impact of bud load on grapevine berry quality, yield, and cluster compactness was evaluated. Their work highlighted the fact that pruning the H4 strain with eight canes and 10–12 buds per cane, or isx canes with 13 buds per cane, managed fruit load, achieved a balance between yield and vegetative growth, and improved the qualitative characteristics of the grape clusters [18].