Application of Joint V-shaped Trellis to Japanese Persimmon ‘Soshu’ and ‘Fuyu’.

Abstract

We investigated the applicability of joint V-shaped trellis (JV) to Japanese persimmon ‘Soshu’ and ‘Fuyu’, to achieve early high yield and labor-effective. The joint V-shaped trellis were planted with one m space between the plants and four m space between the rows. The major branches were joined at a height of 60 cm at the same time as planting, and the side branches were arranged at an elevation angle of 60°. The cumulative yield for the four years from the third to sixth year after planting in the JV were 8.5 and 6.0 tons per 10a for ‘Soshu’ and ‘Fuyu’, respectively, which were 8.3 and 6.0 times higher than those in the conventional open center natural form. The working time per 10a for the major tasks of persimmon cultivation, such as bud thinning, fruit thinning, harvesting, and pruning, also reduced to 49.0% and 30.5% in the open centered natural form of ‘Soshu’ and ‘Fuyu’, respectively. These results suggested that JV is a cultivation method that can achieve early high yield, and labor saving in ‘Soshu’, which has a challenge of early fruit drop, and in ‘Fuyu’, which has the largest cultivated area in Japan.