ISHS Acta Horticulturae 455: V International Mango Symposium
MECHANICAL PRUNING TO CONTROL TREE SIZE, FLOWERING, AND YIELD OF MATURE “TOMMY ATKINS” MANGO TREES. |
| Authors: | Victor M. Medina-Urrutia, R. Nuñez-Elisea |
| Abstract:
In Mexico, “Tommy Atkins” mango trees growing in tropical conditions often reach heights of 8 m to 10 m at 10 years of age. Trees of such excessive vegetative vigor are difficult and expensive to manage; therefore, ways of controlling tree size without affecting orchard productivity are needed. The present work was done to determine the effect of mechanical pruning to control tree size, flowering, and improve yield of “Tommy Atkins” trees. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of (1) topping angle, (2) hedging intensity, and (3) frequency of combined topping and hedging. More and larger new shoots were produced on pruned trees than on control trees. The highest mean fruit yield of three years was similar on trees that were topped at a 15° angle (240 kg/tree) and the control (260 kg) as compared to trees topped at 0° and 30° angles. Annual hedging of one or two sides and biannual hedging of four sides of the tree caused a yield reduction of 28%, 33%, and 42%, respectively, in relation to non-pruned trees. Combined application of biannual mechanical topping and hedging appeared to be the most apropiate method to manipulate tree growth with satisfactory annual yields (205 kg/tree) which were slightly lower than those of control trees (255 kg/tree). | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
