Fruit drop in mango cv. Alphonso: changes in ethylene production and ACC content.
Murti G. S. R., Upreti K. K., Jayaram H. L.
Author Affiliation: Plant Hormones Laboratory, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bangalore 560 089, India.
Indian Journal of Horticulture 65 : 97-99
Abstract : Changes in ethylene production and levels of its precursor, ACC, in the abscising and intact fruitlets of mango (cv. Alphonso) were studied in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Ethylene production increased with the growth of fruitlets from mustard to marble stage both for the intact and abscising fruitlets. The abscising fruitlets showed higher (by 189.2 and 40.0% at the marble and pea stages, respectively) ethylene production than the intact fruitlets. The ACC content was also higher at the marble stage than at the mustard and pea stages. Abscising fruitlets accumulated higher amounts of ACC than intact fruitlets (by 59.2, 26.2 and 96.4% at the mustard, pea and marble stages). Fruit drop was greater at the mustard stage on number basis and at the marble stage (active fruit growth phase) on weight basis. This revealed that the dropping of larger fruitlets (those at the marble stage) is more associated to ethylene evolution than the dropping of smaller fruitlets.