Initial productive development of peach trees under modern training systems

Abstract Orchards implanted under high density show highest production and precocious harvest. However, few studies in Brazil have sought to maximize production through the variation of training systems. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the initial development of cultivars 'Barbosa' and 'Chiripa' under different planting densities and modern training systems. The experiment was evaluated during two productive cycles (2015/16 and 2016/17). In the 'Vase' system, a spacing of 3.5 m was used, in the 'Y-shape' 1.5 m was used, and in the 'Central Leader' system, a spacing of 0.8 m was used between plants. The spacing between rows was equal to 5 m. The two cultivars ('Barbosa' and 'Chiripa') were evaluated for vegetative, phenological development and productive traits. The Capdeboscq rootstock, from seedlings, was used for the two cultivars evaluated. Regarding to the vegetative development, as increase the plant density, like in 'Central Leader' training system, the pruned green mass and the canopy dimension decrease. With regard to phenology, there is no change between the systems evaluated. However, for the productive components, the 'Central Leader' system was more productive, in addition to maintaining the quality of the fruit, when compared to other systems and training. Consequently, it is concluded that the training system in 'Central Leader ' has been showing good vegetative and productive results in the first two years of evaluation. More evaluations are necessary for greater precision regarding the productive potential over the years.