Studies on flowering of some mango cultivars I. Floral bud initiation.
Afifi M. M. G., Shaltout A. D., El-Nasr N. M. A., Mohamed R. B., Desouky I. M.
Author Affiliation: Dept. Hort. Fac. Agric., Ain Shams Univ., Shoubra El-Kheima, Cairo, Egypt.
Annals of Agricultural Science (Cairo) 3 : 1227-1244
Abstract : Floral bud initiation was studied in mango cultivars Langra and Fajri Kalan grown in Kalubia Governorate, Egypt, during 1996/97 and 1997/98. Samples of terminal buds were collected from shoots every 15 days from 15 October to 1 March in both seasons. Flower bud initiation was observed on 15 November in Langra and 1 December in Fajri Kalan, the level of which was initially low (8.33 and 16.66%, respectively), but increased considerably to reach peak values on 15 February (95.83 and 62.50%). In both cultivars, flower bud initiation occurred later by 2 weeks in the off year (1997/98 for Langra and 1996/97 for Fajri Kalan) than in the on year (1996/97 for Langra and 1997/98 for Fajri Kalan). The mean percentage of flower bud initiation in Langra was higher in the on year (49.58%) than in the off year (34.116%). In Fajri Kalan, the mean percentage of flower bud initiation was 50.41% in the on year and 31.66% in the off year. The onset of flower bud initiation was similar in both cultivars. Microscopic examination revealed that the first evidence of floral bud initiation in Langra and Fajri Kalan was mainly observed in the axils of some scales of the bursting bud. Floral bud initiation, development and differentiation, which occurred in 7 distinct stages, are described.