The document discusses the challenges of advanced fruit production due to population growth and land degradation, advocating for increased production and productivity through optimized management practices. It outlines various factors affecting fruit crop production, including environmental, soil, genetic, and socio-economic factors. Key management strategies involve careful crop handling, pest management, and addressing infrastructure deficiencies to improve quality and safety of fruit crops.

1. Advanced Fruit Production

2. Introduction
General scenario
• Population increase
– Decrease in land-holding/household (mainly due to
population increase, land use change example
urbanization, industry expansion etc.)
– Previously fertile/productive lands are getting marginal
or changed into unproductive ones (main causes –
fertility decline due to erosion/siltation/sedimentation,
salinity, drought, soil acidity etc.
How to feed the ever increasing population?
– By increasing production and productivity
– How to increase production, productivity, quality and
safety of the target crops (fruits)

3. Introduction …
Characteristics of Fruits
 Diversity of species (tropical, subtropical, temp.)
 Highly perishable
 Bulkiness
 Specific cultural requirements (training,
pruning/sucker mgt, pollination mgt, ripening, handling
etc.)
– Diversity and specificity require expertise –well
trained/competent professionals (Horticulturist)

4. Introduction…
• Understanding factors affecting production,
productivity, quality and safety of target
crops (Fruit crops) and accordingly optimize
these factors to achieve the indicated
objective

5. Introduction…
Factors affecting plant production/productivity:
• Environmental factors affecting plant productivity:
– Water (moisture –rainfall, irrigation) – lack of
moisture, excess of moisture, optimum??
– Temperature (important in regulating rates of
physiological processes and influencing growth and
development of plants) –Sufficient but not excess heat
is a basic prerequisite for life.
• Heat summation
• Chilling requirement (Chill –unit –temperate fruits)
• Frost??
-Wind speed – affecting pollination, causing breakage of
twigs/fruit trees, increasing evapo-transpiration,
spreading disease causing organisms (air-borne) etc.

6. Introduction –Environmental factors…
-Light –Photoautotrophic higher plants (fruit
crops) are dependent on light for survival
– Light varies in intensity, duration, quality, and
angle of incidence in both daily and annual cycles.
-Atmosphere (contains gases - CO2, O2, N) – CO2
– Photosynthesis –Dry matter production, O2-
Respiration, source of nitrogen

8. Introduction …
Soil factor -Physical and chemical properties affecting production:
• Structure, texture
• Nutrient supply (availability)
• Water holding capacity (drainability)Soil reaction
(pH) –Soil salinity, Soil acidity
• Salinity (content/composition of salt)

9. Salinity –existence of high concentrations
of total salts
• Soil salinity
• Water salinity
Salt accumulation in soils impairs plant
function and soil structure
Adverse effects of salinity on soil:
degrade the soil structure
Decrease porosity & water
permeability

10. Salinity…
Salt injury involves both:
• Osmotic effect – shortage of water
• Specific ion (toxic) effect – occur when
injurious concentrations of Na+
, Cl-
, or SO4
2-
accumulate in cells
Salt stress=>Growth inhibition (height, number
of leaves per plant, leaf area), dry matter
content, photosynthesis, plant death =>
reduced yield and quality

11. Soil acidity…
• Acidic soils usually leached (due to high rainfall)
• Strongly acidic soils have:
– Few basic cations (Ca, K, Mg, etc.) available for
absorption
– High amounts of Al, Mn, etc.
– Low contents of micronutrients
• Toxic levels of Al, Mn
• Severely slowed microbial process & N fixation

12. Introduction –Genetic factors
Genetic factor affecting production/ productivity:
-Variety/cultivar
-Almost all fruit crops are introduced from elsewhere (so
Ethiopia has narrow genetic base- lack diversity)
-Adaptability to a given locality (environmental
condition)
-Yield and productivity (very low)
-Quality (consumer acceptance/preference)
-Disease/insect pest tolerance (resistance)
-Keeping quality (postharvest shelf-life)

13. Introduction –Crop Management
practices
• Crop management practices affecting production/ productivity, produce
quality and safety:
– Propagation (vegetative-simple, cheap –production of disease free
planting material, maintaining true-to type material, mass
multiplication- all year-round activity etc.)
– Training –to give shape (stature -)
– Pruning – mainly to balance vegetative and reproductive growth
– Canopy management (sucker management in some fruit crops such
as banana and pineapple)
– Pest management (diseases-Bacteria, Fungi, Virus;
insects; vertebrate-birds; wild animals etc.)
– Nutrition (Integrated plant nutrition)
– Irrigation and drainage (crop water requirement optimization) –use
of water saving irrigation methods
– Pollination and Pollination management
– Harvest, postharvest handling (including ripening, transport,
marketing etc.)

16. Introduction –Socio-economic factors
Socio-economic factors affecting production/
productivity, produce quality and safety:
- Poor road network
- Lack of availability of inputs- certified
seeds/planting material, fertilizers, pesticides.
- Poor marketing systems
-Inadequate information on prices of inputs and
produce.
- Lack of credit facilities