Abstract
We evaluated the early tree growth, early yield, and fruit quality of Japanese persimmon ‘Taishu’ grown on a joint V-shaped trellis (JV-trellis). On planting of the JV-trellis, the head of a nursery-tree was grafted to the trunk of an adjacent nursery-tree at 60 cm in height, and then lateral branches were trained in an upright position at 60º above the ground level, with which early expansion of the canopy area could be obtained with the JV-trellis. After planting, the early yield of the JV-trellis was 19.5 t・ha−1 in the 3rd year and 35.7 t・ha−1 in the 5th year. The cumulative yield of the 3rd to 5th years was 77.1 t・ha−1 with the JV-trellis, reaching up to 2.4-times compared to that of the free-standing training system. The skin color of the JV-trellis seemed to be more favorable than that of the free-standing training system, possibly due to increased light interception by the JV-trellis. The JV-trellis is considered to be suitable for the cultivation of Japanese persimmon ‘Taishu’ because of earlier fruit production and a higher yield and quality of fruit than with the free-standing training system.
