Nitrogen fertilization in mango cv. Tommy Atkins, at Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Vega E. V., Molina E.
Author Affiliation: Finca Experimental de Santa Cruz, Escuela de Fitotecnia, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Agronomía Costarricense 23 : 37-44
Abstract : At Carrillo, Guanacaste, a field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of N fertilizers on mango cv. Tommy Atkins. Five annual rates of N: 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 kg/ha were evaluated. P and K were applied at rates of 30 kg/ha of P2O5 and K2O, respectively, as basal fertilizers. Fresh weight of commercial and non-commercial fruits were determined for each harvest (1995, 1996 and 1997). The analysis of variance of the yield parameter indicated a significant (P?0.05) and highly significant (P?0.01) response to harvest date in the commercial and total yield. In the first year, the best yield was obtained with 80 kg/ha of N, with a fresh weight of 2197 kg/ha of fruits. In the next harvests, 60 kg/ha of N produced yields of 3087 kg/ha in 1996 and 3965 kg/ha in 1997. A regression analysis of the three years indicated that a rate of 66 kg/ha of N (r=0.74) would be the best for high commercial fruit yields.