Fruit Production of Berberis buxifolia Lam. in Tierra del Fuego

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the phenology and fruiting characteristics of B. buxifolia Lam. at Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. One-year-old shoots had significantly more and heavier fruit than older ones. The orientation, height position, and age of shoots significantly affected the shrub productivity. The highest relative number of fruiting shoots, fruit number and fruit weight were found on the northern side of shrub, followed by eastern, western and southern orientations. The relative number of fruiting shoots, fruit number and fruit weight were higher in the upper half of the plant. One-year-old fruiting shoots were significantly higher than 2- and 3-year-old shoots. Likewise, the relative fruit number and fruit weight were significantly higher on 1-year-old than older shoots.