Effect of time and severity of fruit thinning on fruit retention, fruit size, yield, and revenue in 'Sensation' mango.
Oosthuyse S. A., Jacobs G.
Author Affiliation: Horticultural Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa.
: 441-448
Abstract : Small fruit size in mango cv. Sensation results in economic losses due to a strong positive relationship between size and return per kilogram in Europe. Various proportions (0, 25, 50 or 75%) of inflorescences were removed from Sensation trees at initial fruit set in early October or one or 2 weeks after initial fruit set. Fruits on the remaining inflorescences were thinned to leave only the largest fruit per inflorescence. Thinning on the earliest date resulted in the greatest increase in fruit size. The number of fruits retained and yields were directly related to thinning severity, whereas tree revenue was strongly influenced by fruit size. Thinning when differences in fruit size had just become apparent, in association with the removal of half of the inflorescences per tree, was most beneficial, and revenue/tree was more than doubled.