Horticulture

Module Arboriculture

The course intends to give knowledge on the main propagation methods of plants, the biological cycles and the relationships between the vegetative and the reproductive activity of the fruit trees. At the end of the course student will be able to determine the nutrient and water requirements for the main fruit species and to able to establish an orchard; moreover the student will be able to establish the best pruning technique and the main uses of the growth regulators.

Lectures (35 hours) and tutorials (28 hours) by case studies and/or seminars, also on line.

If teaching is given in a mixed formula or remotely, necessary changes may be introduced to what was previously stated in order to comply with the provided and reported syllabus.

Learning assessment may be done remotely if necessary.

As a guarantee of equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students can ask for a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, based on their specific needs and on teaching objectives of the discipline. 
It is also possible to ask the departmental contacts of CInAP (Center for Active and Participatory Integration - Services for Disabilities and/or DSAs), in the persons of professors Giovanna Tropea Garzia and Anna De Angelis

Definition of arboriculture. Morphology and physiology of fruit trees. Control of development and fruiting: bud dormancy, vegetative cycle, reproductive cycle; flower induction: sporogenesis, anthesis, pollination, fertilization, sterility, fruit, senescence and abscission; fruit ripening. Use of bioregulators. Propagation and reproduction; morphology and structure of the seed, apomissia and polyembriony, seed dormancy, germination, planting, care for seedlings. Multiplication: polarity, cuttings, micropropagation; graft (graft histogenesis; graft incompatibility - biochemical causes; interstocks). Soil and plant trees: soil chemical and physical characteristics; root development. Nutrients and their functions. Water deficit and water logging. Allelopathy, replanting problems. Soil tillage. Climate and woody plants: radiant energy, tree architecture, temperature, hydrometeors. Humidity. Wind. Control of vegetation and fruiting: the main objective of pruning; training system and planting criteria; training and production pruning. Fruit thinning. Use of bioregolators. Harvesting. Maturity indexes. Traditional and non-destructive methods

 1 - Principi di Arboricoltura. A cura ci C. Peano e F. Sottile. EdiSES, Napoli

 2 -Sansavini, S., Costa, G., Gucci, R., Inglese, P., Ramina, A., Xiloyannis, C., and Desjardins,Y., eds. (2019). Principles of Modern Fruit Science (Leuven, Belgium: ISHS), pp.421.