ISHS Acta Horticulturae 645: VII International Mango Symposium
INFLUENCE OF NITROGEN AND CALCIUM FERTILISATION ON PRODUCTIVITY AND FRUIT QUALITY OF THE MANGO CV. SENSATION |
| Authors: | M.D. Torres, J.M. Hermoso, J.M. Farré |
| Keywords: | Mangifera indica, N/Ca ratio, yield, productivity, internal breakdown |
| Abstract:
Mature mango trees, fertilised with ammonium nitrate, gypsum or unfertilised were studied for five years in a field experiment. The soil, a decomposed shale, had a slightly basic pH, was well drained and rich in calcium. The water, with low electrical conductivity, was high in calcium and magnesium bicarbonates. The fertilizers were applied through the drip irrigation system, approximately 23 mg L-1 of nitrogen or 117 mg L-1 of calcium. Control trees received 1.1 mg L-1 of nitrogen and 40 mg L-1 of calcium, the contents of the irrigation water. The calcium front in the soil descended approximately 17 cm per year. Nitrogen fertilisation markedly increased its concentration in the subsoil. Potential tree efficiency, including fruits fallen along the picking period, per unit tree volume, mean fruit weight and percentage of red epidermis were similar for the three treatments. The percentage of fruits fallen during the picking period were much higher for the nitrogen fertilised trees. Only on these trees internal breakdown and stem end cavity increased markedly with mean fruit weight. Trees not fertilized with nitrogen kept its content in leaf and mesocarp stable along the years. In nitrogen fertilised trees it progressively increased. Something similar happened with calcium, but more erratically. | |
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