Relationship between leaf area and leaf number on fruit development in mango (Mangifera indica L.).
Reddy Y. T. N., Singh G.
Author Affiliation: Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore 560?080, India.
Gartenbauwissenschaft 55 : 138-141
Abstract : Grafted trees of the alternate bearing cultivar Langra and the regular bearing cultivars Totapuri and Rumani were used. Shoots were girdled to isolate a selected number of leaves (10-50), and the fruits were thinned to one per shoot. Leaf area and number at harvest, together with fruit weight and dimensions, were measured for each cultivar. All cultivars showed a decrease in fruit growth as the number of supporting leaves decreased. Biennial bearing trees needed at least 50 leaves per shoot for normal fruit growth, compared with 30 for regular bearers. If alternate bearers are unable to provide as many as 50 leaves for each fruit, then depletion of carbohydrate reserves is likely to occur, and this is thought to be one of the factors responsible for alternate bearing in mango.