Agronomic performance of fig plants grown with different numbers of branches

Abstract

Fig production and quality are associated with the number of branches per plant and may vary among regions according to the climatic conditions and crop management. In this work, we studied the influence of the number of branches per plant on the production and fruit quality of 'Roxo de Valinhos' figs under semiarid conditions. The experiment was carried out at the didactic orchard of Federal Rural University of Semiarid (UFERSA), Mossoró city, Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil. Fig plants were grown with 6, 12, 18, or 30 branches in a completely randomized block design with four replicates and four plants per plot. Plants without thinning were also cultivated as controls. The number of fruits per plant, productivity, fruit length, fruit diameter, and fruit weight were evaluated. Additionally, fruit firmness, titratable acidity (TA), soluble solids content (SS), maturation index (SSC/TA), and vitamin C content were analyzed. The results showed that plants cultivated with 12, 18, and 24 branches produced fruits with higher weight, more fruits per branch, and more fruits per plant and thus were more productive. Additionally, fruits showed a high vitamin C content and maturation index