Study on effect of tip pruning on induction of flowering and harvesting in Alphonso mango

Abstract

In recent years, the climatic aberration especially during initiation of flowering in mango cv. Alphonso result in production of vegetative shoots instead of flowering panicle in spite of application of paclobutrazol, which delay harvesting. The present investigation aimed to study utility of tip pruning for induction of early flowering and early harvest in such vegetative shoots. A field trial was conducted in Randomized Block Design in five replication and four treatments, viz. T1 (Tip pruning with 2 leaves), T2 (Tip pruning by retaining 6 leaves), T3 (Tip pruning by retaining 2 leaves) and T4 (control). Tip pruning up to 2 leaves induced early flowering and resulted in earliest harvest (10.4 days), which was significant as compared to control. It also improved yield without affecting physio-chemical composition and sensory qualities in Alphonso mango.