Modelling branching patterns on 1-year-old trunks of six apple cultivars

The structure resulting from branching on 1-year-old apple tree trunks was analysed in a set of apple cultivars with diverse branching and fruiting habits. Four different lateral types borne on successive nodes were observed when vegetative and flowering fates, as well as sylleptic and proleptic branching, were taken into account. The location and grouping of lateral types along the trunk were analysed for all cultivars, but are detailed for one cultivar only. This cultivar showed a succession of zones, each zone being characterized by its composition of lateral types. Statistical models-hidden semi-Markov chains-were built to take this structure into account and to characterize the cultivar's specific branching pattern. The models showed that most of the branching zones had a similar location in the different cultivars, even though zone composition and zone length differed among cultivars. On a more detailed scale, the nodes bearing a lateral, regardless of its type, were frequently followed by latent buds. The validity of the models and their biological interpretation are discussed with respect to parent shoot dynamics, hormonal gradients and competition between neighbouring buds.