Windbreaks in North American Agricultural Systems

Windbreaks are a major component of successful agricultural systems throughout the world. The focus of this chapter is on temperate-zone, commercial, agricultural systems in North America, where windbreaks contribute to both producer profitability and environmental quality by increasing crop production while simultaneously reducing the level of off-farm inputs. They help control erosion and blowing snow, improve animal health and survival under winter conditions, reduce energy consumption of the farmstead unit, and enhance habitat diversity, providing refuges for predatory birds and insects. On a larger landscape scale windbreaks provide habitat for various types of wildlife and have the potential to contribute significant benefits to the carbon balance equation, easing the economic burdens associated with climate change. For a windbreak to function properly, it must be designed with the needs of the landowner in mind. The ability of a windbreak to meet a specific need is determined by its structure: both external structure, width, height, shape, and orientation as well as the internal structure; the amount and arrangement of the branches, leaves, and stems of the trees or shrubs in the windbreak. In response to windbreak structure, wind flow in the vicinity of a windbreak is altered and the microclimate in sheltered areas is changed; temperatures tend to be slightly higher and evaporation is reduced. These types of changes in microclimate can be utilized to enhance agricultural sustainability and profitability. While specific mechanisms of the shelter response remain unclear and are topics for further research, the two biggest challenges we face are: developing a better understanding of why producers are reluctant to adopt windbreak technology and defining the role of woody plants in the agricultural landscape

Fruit quality prediction on cider apple: effect of annual fruit load, soil and climate

Monitoring during 12 years, a network of about twenty plots in commercial orchards was used to analyse the respective influence of soil, climate and trees load, on fruit quality at harvest for two important varieties of cider apples: Douce Coëtligné and Douce Moën. A first analysis was conducted to compare the quality results of the two cultivars, to define the load levels and soil types able to explain some of the fruit variability, and to propose a first prediction of the quality at harvest acMonitoring during 12 years, a network of about twenty plots in commercial orchards was used to analyse the respective influence of soil, climate and trees load, on fruit quality at harvest for two important varieties of cider apples: Douce Coëtligné and Douce Moën. A first analysis was conducted to compare the quality results of the two cultivars, to define the load levels and soil types able to explain some of the fruit variability, and to propose a first prediction of the quality at harvest according to growing conditions defined as combinations of variety x load x soil. It was shown that fruit load effect was often predominant. In a second step, PLS method with cross-validation has been used to predict the remaining variability of fruit quality around the previous defined reference value (depending on load and soil). At this stage, annual characteristics of climate from bud break to fruit ripening, were supposed to be the main factors able to modulate the reference value. Promising results were obtained with the variety Douce Moën to estimate fruit weight, density and acidity of juice with a quite good quality of estimation