Orchard management and sanitary pruning on the incidence of mango malformation.
López-Estrada M. E., Noriega-Cantú D. H., Otero-Colina G., Gutiérrez-Reyes G.
Author Affiliation: Brigada de Educación para el Desarrollo Rural Núm. 90, DGETA. Ignacio Maya 30, Iguala, Guerrero C.P. 40000, Mexico.
Revista Chapingo. Serie Horticultura 11 : 113-120
Abstract : The effects of orchard management and sanitary pruning on the proportion of deformed buds (caused by Fusarium subglutinans [Gibberella fujikuroi var. subglutinans] transmitted by Aceria mangiferae) in mango cv. Haden were investigated from 1999 to 2001 in Guerrero, Mexico. Three orchard management technologies were established: integrated management (IM), high input management (HM) and traditional technology (TT). The pruning treatments applied in each technology were: pruning after harvest and during flowering, pruning of only deformed buds at 30 cm distance, pruning after harvest at 30, 80 and 120 cm from the last deformed buds, and a control with no pruning. IM showed a significantly lower proportion of deformed buds and area under the disease progress curve when compared to TT at the end of 2000-01, suggesting a long-term effect. Even though significant differences among the types of pruning were observed, there was no interaction between the orchard management technologies and the pruning types. The pruning types were statistically different when compared to the control, suggesting that the proportion of deformed buds decreases by pruning-affected branches. Pruning after harvest at 80 and 30 cm from the affected zone maintained the lowest bud deformation values in both periods. This type of pruning is, thus, recommended as a part of IM.