Effect of shading upon incidences of bacterial blackspot and sunburn, flowering, yield and fruit quality in mango.
Pavel E. W., Oosthuizen R. G., Mthembu G. J.
Author Affiliation: Dept. of Plant Production and Soil Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
: 100-102
Abstract : In experiments conducted in Hoedspruit, South Africa, mango trees (cultivars 'Kent' and 'Heidi') were covered in June/July 1999 with white polyethylene shade cloth consisting of various mesh densities (Knittex 20, 30, 40 and 50) on a long-term basis, while control trees remained uncovered. During the growing season of 1999/2000, effects of pollination by bees were evaluated. Across all shade treatments, fruit number per tree was increased by 284 and 1410% in 'Kent' and 'Heidi', respectively, in the shade treatments containing bees in contrast to those without bees. Increases in fruit yield followed a similar pattern as fruit number. In the first growing season, shading did not affect fruit growth and development as well as yield. At harvest, occurrences of sunburn and black spot were strongly reduced in mango fruits of covered trees in contrast to the control. Fruit losses caused by fruit flies were not observed in any of the treatments.