Canopy Management in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv.
Alphonso with reference to Growth and Physiological
Characters under Ultra High Density Planting
-
Author:B. Gopu , T.N. Balamohan , P. Soman and P. Jeyakumar
p-ISSN:0024-9602, e-ISSN:2582-5321, Vol:101, Issue:oct-dec
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29321/MAJ.10.001223
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted to find out the effect of different pruning levels on growth
and physiological characters in mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Alphonso under ultra high
density planting during 2010-2011 at Jain Irrigation Systems Limited (JISL) Farms, in Tamil
Nadu. The treatments viz., control, light pruning, moderate pruning, heavy pruning, 50 per
cent removal of past season growth and total removal of past season growth were imposed
on five-year-old uniform sized Alphonso trees grown under spacing of 3 x 2 m. The highest
fresh weight of pruned branches and maximum number of new flushes after pruning were
registered in T 6 (total removal of past season’s growth). The same treatment recorded the
maximum C: N ratio in leaves and shoots during harvesting stage. The highest tree height
and canopy diameter (EW and NS) were recorded in T 1 (control). The treatment T 4 (heavy
pruning) registered the maximum number of new shoots (8.20) emerged from pruned branch
after pruning. The highest number of new shoots per plant was registered in control (T 1
).
The pruning treatments also influenced total chlorophyll contents. Control trees recorded
the highest leaf area index in all months of observation compared to other treatments. The
treatment T 5 (50 per cent removal of past season’s growth and tipping) recorded the highest
light transmission ratio among the treatments.
Key words : Mango pruning, Growth characters, Chlorophyll, LAI and C: N Ratio.