Mechanical response of young canes of wind-blown kiwifruit vines

Abstract

Kiwifruit vines with broad leaves are easily torn or shed by high-speed wind. In this study, the threshold wind speed at which a cane is broken was investigated experimentally with varying physical parameters of a kiwifruit vine under two different ABL (atmospheric boundary layer) conditions. In addition, the temporal variation of wind-blown young canes was visualized using a high-speed camera. The average threshold wind speeds for ABL types A and B are about 20.5 m/s and 18.9 m/s, respectively. A wind-blown young cane takes periodic up-and-down motion when it is broken off. The mean fluttering frequency of young canes of the kiwifruit vines was found to be about 4.5 Hz.