Flowering synchronization of Sensation mango trees by chemical inflorescence removal.
Oosthuyse S. A., Jacobs G.
Author Affiliation: Horticultural Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa.
: 53-56
Abstract : Sensation mango trees grown in the Northern and Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa flower unevenly. Flowering synchronization can be achieved in Sensation by removing the inflorescences by hand during the normal flowering period. In the present study conducted in 1992-93 in South Africa, chemical inflorescence removal as a means of synchronizing flowering in Sensation was evaluated. The inflorescences on Sensation mango trees were removed chemically ('chemical pruning') by a spray of dinoseb acetate (1062 ppm) in early July and in early August. Comparisons were made with untreated trees, and trees whose apical buds and inflorescences were removed by hand in early July. Chemical pruning was effective in synchronizing flowering, but was slightly less so than hand pruning. Tree flowering duration was shortest and flowering most delayed in the chemically pruned trees. Flowering intensity was highest in the hand pruned trees and lowest in the untreated trees. Post-flowering fruit drop was positively related to flowering intensity. Differences in tree yield were unapparent, however, due to compensatory increases in fruit size in the chemically and hand pruned trees. These results show that chemical inflorescence removal can be employed as a measure to synchronize flowering in Sensation without a reduction in yield.