Canopy Management in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Alphonso with reference to Growth and Physiological Characters under Ultra High Density Planting

摘要

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 T6 (total removal of past season's growth). The same treatment recorded the maximum C: N ratio in leaves and shootsduring harvesting stage. The highest tree height and canopy diameter (EW and NS) were recorded in T1 (control). The treatment T4 (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,). 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.