James D. Spiers

Orchard Design Influences Fruit Quality, Canopy Temperature, and Yield of Satsuma Mandarin (Citrus unshiu ‘Owari’)

Satsuma growers in Alabama have used various orchard designs to minimize freeze damage. These designs include interplanting between pecan and pine trees, and planting behind windbreaks. Interplanting satsuma trees with pine trees resulted in warmer temperatures within the orchard, while the other orchard designs did not moderate orchard temperature during severe freeze events. Satsuma fruit harvested from plots shaded by pine tree canopies had higher soluble solids content and reduced fruit weight. Dense pine tree canopies can provide an insulating effect that reduces freeze damage and yield losses when severe freezes occur, but heavy shading can result in lower yields when damaging freezes do not occur.

Performance of Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) Cultivars in Southern Mississippi

The oriental persimmon is native to China and is best adapted to areas with moderate winters and relatively mild summers. However, because of its low chilling requirement, persimmons will break dormancy during early warm periods only to be damaged by spring frosts later. This study was initiated to determine suitable cultivars for the gulf coast region. ‘Hana Fuyu’ was greatly affected by a freeze event. ‘Fuyu Imoto’ and ‘Matsumoto’ had numerous smaller fruit and were less affected by freeze events. Results indicated that persimmon cultivars are available that would be a good addition to growers who would like to diversify their fruit selection in the southern U.S.