Improvement of in-shell nut quality through management of in-field variability
Résumé
There is large in-field variability in nut orchards, often discernible at tree level. Watershortage or nutritional deficiency of a given tree results in poor yield or fruit quality. In the last 6 years, Unicoque has undertaken studies to characterize the in-field variability in nut orchards, to determine the factors responsible for such a variability and to find practical solutions for its management. With this purpose different Precision Agriculture technologies have been used (soil mapping, remote sensing,..) in order to map and manage in-field variability, both at the planting period and during the orchard production period. The first results of this study are very promising. For gross margin, in-field variability is more than 50% when variability between orchards is less than 40%. An accurate management of in-field variability leads to an increase of the gross margin of, at least, 20% after deducting the specific costs of Precision Agriculture technologies used for this accurate management