Effect of Yangling inclined trellis tree shape on light interception efficiency, fruit quality, and yield of sweet cherry cv: ‘Jimei’

Abstract

Different tree shapes (TSs) directly influence canopy structure, light interception, and photosynthetic activity, impacting fruit quality and yield. This study investigated the effects of light interception efficiency (LIE) on the quality and yield of “Jimei” sweet cherry fruits by comparing two tree shapes: the Yangling inclined trellis arm TS (YLL-TS) and the Super slender spindle TS (SSS-TS). Using three-dimensional digitization techniques, we analyzed the growth relationships between branches and leaves, constructed virtual canopy models, and examined branch composition, leaf area, and spatial distribution. The present study indicated varying correlation coefficients for growth relationships between branches and leaves in the two TSs. For YLL-TS, the smallest correlation coefficient was between the length of nutrient-bearing branches and leaf petiole length (r² =  0.206), while the largest was between the length of short fruit-bearing branches and the number of branches and leaves (r² =  0.851). For SSS-TS, the smallest was between the length of medium fruit-bearing branches and leaf petiole length (r² =  0.211), and the largest was between the length of nutrient-bearing branches and leaf area (r² =  0.827). The LIE for YLL-TS (0.53 STAR value) was significantly higher than SSS-TS (0.20 STAR value). Although YLL-TS had fewer branches and leaf area, it showed increases in LIE by 48%, 42%, and 27% for overall canopy, fruit-bearing branches, and nutrient-bearing branches, respectively. The photosynthetic parameters (Pn, Tr, Gs, and Ci) were higher in SSS-TS. YLL-TS exhibited a higher economic yield (4.075 kg/ m2) and is more suitable for dense planting, facilitating widespread cultivation.