ISHS Acta Horticulturae 773: XXVII International Horticultural Congress - IHC2006: International Symposium on Citrus and Other Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Crops
MANGOSTEEN CROP LOAD AFFECTS PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES, FRUIT YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY |
| Authors: | S. Sdoodee, K. Phonrong, Y. Ruongying |
| Keywords: | leaf water potential, stomatal conductance, fruit size |
| Abstract:
Effects of crop load on physiological responses, fruit yield and fruit quality were investigated in 14-year-old mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) trees. Uniform trees (n=24), field grown under identical practice in Southern Thailand, were selected for varying crop load (ELCL=Extremely Low Crop Load, <500 fruits per plant; LCL=Low Crop Load, 501-1000 fruits per plant; MCL=Moderate Crop Load, 1001-1500 fruits per plant; HCL=High Crop Load, >1500 fruits per plant). Therefore, an experiment was established in 4 treatments of crop load levels with 6 replicates during two consecutive years (2004-2005). In 2004, MCL trees provided high yield with high percentage of large fruits (>70 g or acceptable size for export). Although the highest yield was found in HCL trees, most of the fruits were small. Yield of large fruits increased with decreasing crop load level. Leaf water potential and stomatal conductance were monitored during the fruit development period. Leaf water potential decreased with increasing crop load level, indicating that stomatal conductance increased with crop load. After harvesting in 2004, leaf flushing and root growth of HCL trees were poor, and these led to low fruit yield in 2005. It was remarkable that MCL trees exhibited high yield with high percentage of large fruits in 2004 and 2005. These results suggest that mangosteen trees should be at the MCL level to optimize crop load with good yield of large fruits. | |
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