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Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) - Call for papers!

Use of Trunk Injection Technique and Alternative Compounds in Promoting Flowering of 'Carabao' Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

(Myanmar), Doctor of Philosophy in Horticulture (University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Dissertation Abstract:

 

A trunk injection technique is a feasible alternative of applying flower inducers in mango trees. Injecting 4 mL of paclobutrazol (25% SC at 1g a.i. per meter canopy) in two 4 mm holes (bored at 45° angle, 2.5 cm depth) to 4-5-year-old ‘Carabao’ mango trees grown in polybags resulted to shorter shoot length and wavy leaves, indicating uptake of the compound. Injecting 2 mL of Ethrel (48% SC), four months later resulted in 70 percent flowering, compared with the Ethrel-sprayed trees with 5 percent, and water-injected control with 0 percent. Starch and nitrogen levels in the leaf tissues of treated trees were low. Morpho-anatomical study confirmed the efficiency of trunk injection as a feasible alternative to spraying of Ethrel in mango.

Spraying of alternative bud break agents in paclobutrazol-treated trees showed that nitrogen-based compounds (Ca(No3)2, NH4NO3, and NaNO3) induced 22-50 percent flowering compared with 10-12.5 percent flowering from potassium-based compounds (K2SO4 and KCl). Control trees gave no response. The positive control (KNO3), which exhibited 77.5 percent flowering, was still the best bud-break agent for mango.