Spatial variability in commercial orange groves. Part 2: relating canopy geometry to soil attributes and historical yield

Colaço, André F.; Molin, José P.; Rosell Polo, Joan Ramon; Escolà i Agustí, Alexandre

doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-018-9615-0

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Issue date

2018-10-16

Author

Colaço, André F.

Molin, José P.

Rosell Polo, Joan Ramon

Escolà i Agustí, Alexandre

Suggested citation

Colaço, André F.; Molin, José P.; Rosell Polo, Joan Ramon; Escolà i Agustí, Alexandre; . (2018) . Spatial variability in commercial orange groves. Part 2: relating canopy geometry to soil attributes and historical yield. Precision Agriculture, 2019, vol. 20, num. 4, p. 805-822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-018-9615-0.

Abstract

Site-specific management strategies are usually dependant on the understanding of the underlying cause and effect relationships that occur at the within-field level. The assessment of canopy geometry of tree crops has been facilitated in recent years through the development of light detection and ranging sensors mounted on terrestrial platforms. The main objective of this study was to uncover the factors driving orange tree variability in commercial orange groves. Secondly, this study sought to investigate whether tree geometry information derived from a terrestrial sensing platform is useful information to guide management zones delineation in such groves. A database of soil physical attributes, elevation, historical yield and canopy geometry (canopy volume and height) was analysed in three commercial orange groves in São Paulo, Brazil. Canopy geometry and historical yield were correlated with soil attributes in two of the three groves evaluated; in these groves, the correlation coefficient between yield and soil/landscape information was often above 0.6, depending on the year. Zones of different tree sizes presented different historical yield and soil properties in all three groves. In conclusion, assessing canopy volume provides useful information to delineate management zones and guide enhanced site-specific management strategies.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/66686

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-018-9615-0

Is part of

Precision Agriculture, 2019, vol. 20, num. 4, p. 805-822