Yield and physico-chemical quality of ‘Valencia’ orange in the region North of Rio Grande do Sul: mapping and correlation among parameters

Abstract

The objective of this study was to perform the mapping of productivity and physico-chemical quality of fruit in orchard of 'Valencia' orange, as well as evaluating of the correlation between them valuables, aimed at precision agriculture. The study was conducted in a commercial orchard of 0.82 ha. The collections made on a sampling grid of 18 x 21 m, totaling 29 points. The parameters analyzed were: number of fruits, total mass fruit, average fruit weight, juice volume per plant, productivity, juice yield, longitudinal diameter and transverse of fruit, fruit shape, titratable acidity, total soluble solids and ratio. The data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis and analysis of linear correlation of Pearson, and the results were spatialized in thematic maps. From the results it can be concluded that the number of fruits, juice volume per plant, total fruit weight and yield per plant showed high variability their values. The yield of juice, juice volume per plant and productivity are directly influenced by the number of fruits per plant. The mapping of harvest provided more details of the production area, demonstrating the importance of using tools of precision agriculture in commercial orchards.