Fruiting and vegetative performance of redhaven peaches as affected by root restriction

Many horticultural manipulations have been proposed to manipulate shoot growth, among these root pruning and restriction have received special consideration. The present study deals with root restriction on adult white Redhaven peaches on seedling rootstock. Trees were grown in 30 liter pots or planted in the field in root-confining nets containing the same amount of soil as in the pots. Vegetative and reproductive data were collected for two years and compared with those obtained from trees grown in open soil conditions. Trees were kept in non-limiting conditions for water and nutrients. Root restriction affected vegetative growth of both canopy and roots. Root confinement using pots was the most effective treatment in reducing total tree growth. However, treatments differentially affected dry matter distribution among different parts of the plant. Particularly, partitioning to fruit was higher in the trees grown in nets compared to those in pot or in open field conditions. Regarding productivity, trees grown in pots showed a significantly lower yield/tree compared to the other treatments, with no modification of average fruit weight. On the contrary, trees grown in nets had yields and mean fruit weights comparable to those obtained in control trees.