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Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World

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A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2020) | Viewed by 47112

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Eike Luedeling

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Guest Editor

INRES-Horticultural Sciences, University of Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 6, 53121 Bonn, Germany
Interests: horticulture; tree phenology modeling; climate change; decision analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit and nut trees are grown in a wide range of climates, and in most of them the timing of their development stages is being increasingly affected by climatic change. Warming winters have led to changes in bloom times, occasionally accompanied by an increased risk of frost damage, or even by complete loss of economic viability. Warming in spring, summer, and fall has had consequences for the rate of fruit development, harvest time, and fruit quality. Growers of deciduous fruit and nut trees are increasingly concerned about the implications of climate change for their livelihoods, but many find themselves without adequate information or resources to anticipate the future performance of their orchards and to develop appropriate adaptation strategies.

This Special Issue aims to compile evidence on the impact of climate change on fruit and nut tree phenology that has already been observed and on that that is yet to come. We invite contributions that provide documentations of such an impact, efforts to model the phenological responses of trees, studies that project climate change impact on trees, and other research that may help us narrow our knowledge gaps on this important issue. We particularly welcome contributions that synthesize existing knowledge into actionable information and help enable growers to successfully navigate the challenge of continually adapting to dynamically warming production conditions.

Prof. Eike Luedeling
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

climate change
tree phenology
chilling
forcing
decision support
phenology modeling

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mild Water Stress Makes Apple Buds More Likely to Flower and More Responsive to Artificial Forcing— Impacts of an Unusually Warm and Dry Summer in Germany

by Eduardo Fernandez, Eike Luedeling, Dominik Behrend, Stijn Van de Vliet, Achim Kunz and Erica Fadón

Agronomy 2020, 10(2), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10020274 - 14 Feb 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4263

Abstract

Climate change may result in increasingly frequent extreme events, such as the unusually dry conditions that occurred in Germany during the apple growing season of 2018. To assess the effects of this phenomenon on dormancy release and flowering in apples, we compared irrigated and non-irrigated orchard blocks at Campus Klein-Altendorf. We evaluated bud development, dormancy release and flowering in the following season under orchard and controlled forcing conditions. Results showed that irrigated trees presented longer (39.2%) and thinner shoots compared to non-irrigated trees. In both treatments, apical buds developed a similar number of flower primordia per cyme (4–5), presenting comparable development and starch dynamics during dormancy. Interestingly, buds on non-irrigated shoots exposed to low chill levels responded earlier to forcing conditions than those on irrigated shoots. However, chill requirements (~50 Chill Portions) and bud phenology under field conditions did not differ between treatments. In spring, buds on non-irrigated trees presented a higher bloom probability (0.42) than buds on irrigated trees (0.30). Our findings show that mild water stress during summer influenced vegetative growth during the same season, as well as the response of buds to forcing temperatures and flowering of the following season. The differences between irrigation levels in the phenological responses of shoots under low-chill conditions point to a so-far understudied impact of water supply on chilling requirements, as well as subsequent bud behavior. Accounting for the effects of both the water status during summer and the temperature during the dormant season may be required for accurately predicting future tree phenology in a changing climate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World)

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21 pages, 3730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparing Apple and Pear Phenology and Model Performance: What Seven Decades of Observations Reveal

by Bianca Drepper, Anne Gobin, Serge Remy and Jos Van Orshoven

Agronomy 2020, 10(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10010073 - 4 Jan 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4433

Abstract

Based on observations for the beginning of the flowering stage of Malus domestica (apple) and Pyrus communis (pear) for the 1950–2018 period, phenological trends in north-eastern Belgium were investigated in function of temperatures during dormancy. Moreover, two different phenological models were adapted and evaluated. Median flowering dates of apple were on average 9.5 days earlier following warm dormancy periods, and 11.5 days for pear, but the relationship between bloom date and temperature was found not to be linear, suggesting delayed fulfilment of dormancy requirements due to increased temperatures during the chilling period. After warm chilling periods, an average delay of 5.0 and 10.6 days in the occurrence date of dormancy break was predicted by the phenological models while the PLSR reveals mixed signals regarding the beginning of flowering. Our results suggest overlapping chilling and forcing processes in a transition phase. Regarding the beginning of flowering, a dynamic chill model coupled to a growing degree days estimation yielded significantly lower prediction errors (on average 5.0 days) than a continuous chill-forcing model (6.0 days), at 99% confidence level. Model performance was sensitive to the applied parametrization method and limitations for the application of both models outside the past temperature ranges became apparent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World)

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21 pages, 4835 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Blooming under Mediterranean Climate: Estimating Cultivar-Specific Chill and Heat Requirements of Almond and Apple Trees Using a Statistical Approach

by Isabel Díez-Palet, Inmaculada Funes, Robert Savé, Carmen Biel, Felicidad de Herralde, Xavier Miarnau, Francisco Vargas, Glòria Àvila, Joaquim Carbó and Xavier Aranda

Agronomy 2019, 9(11), 760; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9110760 - 15 Nov 2019

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5698

Abstract

Climate change, and specifically global temperature increase, is expected to alter plant phenology. Temperate deciduous fruit trees have cultivar-specific chill and heat requirements to break dormancy and bloom. In this study, we aimed to estimate chill and heat requirements (in chill portions, CP, and growing degree hours, GDH, respectively) of 25 almond (30–36 years) and 12 apple (14–26 years) cultivars grown under a Mediterranean climate. The set included early and late blooming genotypes. Long-term phenological and temperature records were analyzed by means of partial least squares (PLS) regression. The main difference between early and late genotypes was chill requirement, ranging from 8.40 CP of early genotypes to 55.41 CP of extra-late genotypes. However, as chill requirements are quite easily attained by all almond cultivars in this study, year-to-year variations in actual blooming dates for each genotype are governed by variability of mean forcing temperatures. In contrast, different chill and heat combinations resulted in similar mean blooming dates for the studied apple cultivars. Mean temperature in both chilling and forcing phases determined their blooming time in the location studied. Overlaps and gaps between both phases were obtained. Despite some limitations, the PLS analysis has proven to be a useful tool to define both chilling and forcing phases. Nevertheless, since the delineation of these phases determine the total amount of CP and GDH, further efforts are needed to investigate the transition of these phases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World)

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Review

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20 pages, 3366 KiB

Open AccessReview

Development of Peach Flower Buds under Low Winter Chilling Conditions

by Gener A. Penso, Idemir Citadin, Silvia Scariotto, Carlos E. Magalhães dos Santos, Américo W. Junior, Claudio H. Bruckner and Javier Rodrigo

Agronomy 2020, 10(3), 428; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10030428 - 20 Mar 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 11314

Abstract

Here, we reviewed both endogenous and exogenous factors involved in the processes of flower bud formation and flower development in peach, analyzing how they can be affected by climatic change in temperate zones, explored the expansion of peach to tropical or subtropical zones. The process of flower bud formation in peach differs between low winter chilling and temperate conditions. Although the main steps of flower development are maintained, the timing in which each one occurs is different, and some processes can be altered under low winter chilling conditions, with a great impact on fruit production and crop management. Further studies on flower bud induction and differentiation under warmer conditions are fundamental for addressing the alterations in flower bud development that negatively impact on next season’s harvest. In the future, horticulturalists and scientists will face several challenges, mainly how high temperatures affect the expression of the main genes regulating flower formation and how to improve crop management in these conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World)

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32 pages, 817 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceReview

Chilling and Heat Requirements of Temperate Stone Fruit Trees (Prunus sp.)

by Erica Fadón, Sara Herrera, Brenda I. Guerrero, M. Engracia Guerra and Javier Rodrigo

Agronomy 2020, 10(3), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10030409 - 18 Mar 2020

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 8730

Abstract

Stone fruit trees of genus Prunus, like other temperate woody species, need to accumulate a cultivar-specific amount of chilling during endodormancy, and of heat during ecodormancy to flower properly in spring. Knowing the requirements of a cultivar can be critical in determining if it can be adapted to a particular area. Growers can use this information to anticipate the future performance of their orchards and the adaptation of new cultivars to their region. In this work, the available information on chilling- and heat-requirements of almond, apricot, plum, peach, and sweet cherry cultivars is reviewed. We pay special attention to the method used for the determination of breaking dormancy, the method used to quantify chilling and heat temperatures, and the place where experiments were conducted. The results reveal different gaps in the information available, both in the lack of information of cultivars with unknown requirements and in the methodologies used. The main emerging challenges are the standardization of the conditions of each methodology and the search for biological markers for dormancy. These will help to deal with the growing number of new cultivars and the reduction of winter cold in many areas due to global warming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World)

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20 pages, 1855 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceReview

A Conceptual Framework for Winter Dormancy in Deciduous Trees

by Erica Fadón, Eduardo Fernandez, Helen Behn and Eike Luedeling

Agronomy 2020, 10(2), 241; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10020241 - 6 Feb 2020

Cited by 90 | Viewed by 11854

Abstract

The perennial life strategy of temperate trees relies on establishing a dormant stage during winter to survive unfavorable conditions. To overcome this dormant stage, trees require cool (i.e., chilling) temperatures as an environmental cue. Numerous approaches have tried to decipher the physiology of dormancy, but these efforts have usually remained relatively narrowly focused on particular regulatory or metabolic processes, recently integrated and linked by transcriptomic studies. This work aimed to synthesize existing knowledge on dormancy into a general conceptual framework to enhance dormancy comprehension. The proposed conceptual framework covers four physiological processes involved in dormancy progression: (i) transport at both whole-plant and cellular level, (ii) phytohormone dynamics, (iii) genetic and epigenetic regulation, and (iv) dynamics of nonstructural carbohydrates. We merged the regulatory levels into a seasonal framework integrating the environmental signals (i.e., temperature and photoperiod) that trigger each dormancy phase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit and Nut Tree Phenology in a Warming World)

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