Evaluation of flowering inductive substances in three mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars.
Miranda D.
Author Affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología de Cultivos, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Colombia.
Agronomía Colombiana 18 : 25-30
Abstract : An experiment was carried out in Colombia during the second semester of 1994 to determine the effect of 2 promoting substances (paclobutrazol 25% at 32 ml/litre and KNO3 at 2.0%) on the flowering induction of 5-year-old mango cultivars Vandyke, Haden and Kent. Paclobutrazol and KNO3 were applied alone or in combination, foliarly or as soil drenching. There was a reduction in the vegetative growth, visible until floral differentiation. The best response was shown by Kent, recording a height of 5.1 cm, followed by Haden (11.0 cm) and Vandyke (15.0 cm). Significant statistical differences were found between the cultivars with respect to the number of leaves produced within each growth flush. Vandyke produced the highest leaf number (18), followed by Haden (13) and Kent (7.1). Vandyke had higher number of panicles (199) compared with Kent (24) and Haden (33). There was a significant interaction between the cultivar and the application method in terms of number of panicles produced, with an increase of 31% when applied foliarly compared to the soil treatment. Vandyke produced the highest number of fruits (192), followed by Haden (29) and Kent (16). Significant differences were also observed in terms of number of fruits retained by each cultivar. When KNO3 and paclobutrazol were applied, respectively, 71 and 67 fruits were retained compared to the control (42 fruits). With mixed application, 28 fruits exhibited fruit setting.