Control of bud morphogenesis in mango (Mangifera indica L.) by girdling, defoliation and temperature modification.
Núñez-Elisea R., Davenport T. L., Caldeira M. L.
Author Affiliation: University of Florida, IFAS, Tropical Research and Education Center, 18905 SW 280th Street, Homestead, FL 33031, USA.
Journal of Horticultural Science 71 : 25-39
Abstract : Dormant buds of mango are non-differentiated, consisting of an arrested apical meristem and a set of preformed nodes. Cool temperatures around 15°C promote inflorescence (panicle) morphogenesis. Inflorescence differentiation involves a putative floral stimulus generated in mature leaves and translocated in the phloem. The effects of girdling and defoliation of field-grown trees of cultivars Keitt and Tommy Atkins, and of transfer of container-grown Tommy Atkins trees from warm (30/25°C day/night) to cool (18/10° day/night) temperature regimes, or vice versa, on bud morphology were investigated. The results indicate that the fate of the preformed basal nodes is determined separately from that of the apical meristem. Activity of the floral stimulus appears to be promoted by cool temperatures and inhibited by warm ones. Activation of either or both bud regions in temperatures near 30° promoted leaf initiation, whereas activation of either or both regions in temperatures of ~15° promoted inflorescence morphogenesis.