| List of Figures | xv |
| List of Tables | xix |
| About the Editors | xxi |
| Contributors | xxiii |
| Preface | xxvii |
| Anatomy and Taxonomy | 3 |
| Pome Fruit | 3 |
| Stone Fruit | 5 |
| Other Temperate Tree Fruit | 7 |
| Breeding and Molecular Genetics | 11 |
| Hybridization | 13 |
| Nontraditional Breeding Techniques | 14 |
| Carbohydrate Partitioning and Plant Growth | 21 |
| Seasonal Patterns of Carbohydrate Production | 21 |
| Partitioning to Tree Organs | 23 |
| Environmental Factors Affecting Partitioning | 28 |
| Cultivar Selection | 31 |
| Selection Criteria | 31 |
| Multidisciplinary and International Evaluation of Cultivars | 35 |
| Major Cultivars of the World | 35 |
| Diseases | 41 |
| Background on Tree Fruit Diseases and Their Control | 41 |
| Common Pome Fruit Diseases | 43 |
| Common Stone Fruit Diseases | 51 |
| Dormancy and Acclimation | 57 |
| Forms of Dormancy | 57 |
| Specific Cases of Dormancy | 59 |
| Physiological Basis for Dormancy | 61 |
| Acclimation | 62 |
| Dwarfing | 65 |
| Genetic Dwarfing | 66 |
| Horticultural Practices to Induce Dwarfing | 66 |
| Flower Bud Formation, Pollination, and Fruit Set | 75 |
| Flower Formation | 75 |
| Pollination | 78 |
| Fertilization | 79 |
| Fruit Color Development | 83 |
| Color Measurement | 83 |
| Pigments | 84 |
| Physiology of Color Formation in Tree Fruit | 87 |
| Fruit Growth Patterns | 91 |
| What Is a Stone or Pome Fruit? | 91 |
| What Is Fruit Growth? | 93 |
| Growth by Cell Division and Cell Expansion | 94 |
| Growth Patterns of Different Fruit | 95 |
| Importance of Maintaining Fruit Growth | 98 |
| Fruit Shape | 99 |
| Fruit Maturity | 103 |
| The Compromise Between Quality and Storability | 104 |
| Development of Maturity Indices | 105 |
| Maturity or Harvest Indices for Specific Fruit | 108 |
| Maturity Programs | 111 |
| Geographic Considerations | 115 |
| Latitude | 115 |
| Elevation | 116 |
| Water Bodies | 116 |
| Aspect | 116 |
| Rainfall | 117 |
| Harvest | 121 |
| Hand Harvesting | 121 |
| Harvest Aids | 124 |
| Mechanical Harvesting | 125 |
| High-Density Orchards | 131 |
| Light Environment | 132 |
| Production Efficiency and Packout | 132 |
| Management | 133 |
| Insects and Mites | 137 |
| Direct Pests | 137 |
| Indirect Pests | 142 |
| Beneficial Insects | 146 |
| Irrigation | 149 |
| Irrigation Scheduling | 149 |
| Irrigation Systems | 151 |
| Light Interception and Photosynthesis | 157 |
| Photosynthesis | 157 |
| Factors Affecting Photosynthesis | 159 |
| Light Interception | 160 |
| Responses of Fruit Trees to Light | 161 |
| Orchard Practices to Improve Light | 163 |
| Marketing | 169 |
| Key Agents | 169 |
| Key Functions | 170 |
| Nematodes | 177 |
| Beneficial Free-Living Nematodes | 177 |
| Plant-Parasitic Nematodes and Associated Problems | 177 |
| Major Nematodes That Affect Fruit Trees | 179 |
| Nepovirus Diseases | 180 |
| Diagnosis of Nematode Problems | 181 |
| Nematode Control | 182 |
| Nutritional Value of Fruit | 185 |
| Health Benefits of Fruit Consumption | 185 |
| Phenolic Compounds in Pome and Stone Fruit | 190 |
| Orchard Floor Management | 195 |
| Orchard Groundcover Advantages | 195 |
| Orchard Groundcover Disadvantages | 198 |
| Orchard Planning and Site Preparation | 203 |
| Site Assessment | 203 |
| Orchard Design and Tree Quality | 204 |
| Orchard Preparation | 205 |
| Tree Planting | 205 |
| Packing | 209 |
| Presizing and Presorting | 209 |
| Weight Sizing, Color Sorting, and Packaging | 210 |
| Defect Sorting | 213 |
| Modified-Atmosphere Packing | 213 |
| Bruise Prevention | 214 |
| Nondestructive Quality Assessment | 215 |
| Physiological Disorders | 219 |
| Types of Physiological Disorders | 220 |
| Major Physiological Disorders of Temperate Tree Fruit | 223 |
| Plant Growth Regulation | 235 |
| Regulation of Tree Vigor and Enhancement of Flowering | 236 |
| Chemical Thinning | 237 |
| Control of Preharvest Drop of Fruit | 238 |
| Specialty Applications in Targeted Situations | 240 |
| Plant Hormones | 245 |
| Auxin | 246 |
| Gibberellin | 246 |
| Cytokinin | 248 |
| Abscisic Acid | 248 |
| Ethylene | 249 |
| Mode of Action | 249 |
| Plant Nutrition | 251 |
| Soil As a Reservoir of Plant Nutrients | 251 |
| Nutrient Absorption and Transport | 252 |
| Physiological and Biochemical Functions of Plant Nutrients | 255 |
| Modern Trends in Fruit Tree Nutrition | 257 |
| Plant-Pest Relationships and the Orchard Ecosystem | 259 |
| Arthropods | 259 |
| Disease-Causing Pathogens | 260 |
| Nematodes | 261 |
| Vertebrates | 262 |
| Weeds | 262 |
| Postharvest Fruit Physiology | 265 |
| Respiration and Ethylene Production | 266 |
| Texture | 267 |
| Color | 269 |
| Flavor | 270 |
| Processing | 273 |
| Apple Cultivars and Quality Characteristics | 273 |
| Apple Sorting | 273 |
| Applesauce Production | 274 |
| Apple Slice Production | 275 |
| Apple Juice Production | 275 |
| Quality Assessments | 276 |
| Other Temperate Fruit | 277 |
| Propagation | 279 |
| Sexual Propagation | 279 |
| Vegetative Propagation | 280 |
| Rootstock Selection | 287 |
| Effects of Rootstocks and Reasons for Selection | 287 |
| Rootstock-Scion Compatibility | 288 |
| Types of Rootstocks | 289 |
| Multicomponent Plants | 290 |
| Soil Management and Plant Fertilization | 295 |
| Methods of Estimating Fertilizer Needs | 296 |
| Fertilizer Application Practices | 298 |
| Managing Extreme Soil Environments | 300 |
| Spring Frost Control | 303 |
| Frost Control Principles | 303 |
| Frost Control Techniques | 304 |
| Storing and Handling Fruit | 309 |
| Precooling | 309 |
| Cold Storage | 311 |
| Controlled Atmosphere Storage | 313 |
| Relative Humidity | 314 |
| Monitoring Storages | 315 |
| Sustainable Orcharding | 319 |
| Integrated Pest Management | 319 |
| Integrated Fruit Production | 321 |
| Organic Production | 322 |
| Temperature Relations | 327 |
| Freezing Tolerance versus Freezing Avoidance | 327 |
| Overwintering | 332 |
| Systems and Strategies to Distinguish Cold Hardiness and Dormancy Transitions | 333 |
| Training and Pruning Principles | 339 |
| Apical Dominance and Growth | 339 |
| Shoot Orientation Effect on Apical Dominance | 340 |
| General Responses to Pruning | 341 |
| Types of Pruning Cuts | 341 |
| Training and Pruning Objectives | 343 |
| Training Systems | 347 |
| Central Leader Systems | 347 |
| Open Center Systems | 350 |
| Vertical and Horizontal Trellis Systems | 351 |
| Tree Canopy Temperature Management | 355 |
| Temperature Assessment | 356 |
| Cooling Strategies | 357 |
| Water Relations | 361 |
| Pathway of Water from the Soil to the Leaf | 361 |
| Ascent of Water in Plants | 363 |
| Transpiration Stream of Water | 363 |
| Components of Plant Water Relations | 364 |
| Wildlife | 367 |
| Integrated Approach to Wildlife Management | 367 |
| General Control Strategies | 368 |
| Index | 371 |