English

Jocimar Rodrigues Da Silva Marlon,Domiciano Sofia,Paula Maia Paiva Ana,Leonel Sarita,Antonio Tecchio Marco,Esther Ferreira Tamires

doi:10.5897/ajar2016.11670

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the phenology, yield and fruit physicochemical characteristics of four persimmon cultivars (Diospyros kaki L.) in Sao Paulo’s Midwest countryside, Brazil. The persimmon cultivars studied were ‘Pomelo’, ‘Rama Forte’, ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Rubi’. The main phenological phases of persimmons trees were evaluated. Despite significant differences between cultivars in the early and intermediate stages of the plants development such as branch development, full blossom and fruiting’s onset, the time required between the fruit’s pruning and harvesting was similar among the cultivars. It could be observed that only ‘Pomelo’ persimmon trees presented male flowers. However on ‘Rubi’, ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Rama Forte’ persimmons trees were found the largest number of female flowers, fruits fixation index and number of fruits per branch. Nevertheless, there were no differences among the cultivars regarding productivity, which could be due to the persimmon fruits physical characteristics. The fruits’ diameter growth behavior was evaluated and it was observed that all cases were defined as double sigmoidal, defined by three single phases. Regarding the chemical characteristics, there were no differences among the cultivars’ pH and soluble solids content; however, in general, the ‘Pomelo’ persimmon fruit presented less titratable acidity and a higher maturation index rating. Key words: Fruit growth, fruit set, flowering, double sigmoid, maturity.

Highlights

Persimmon cropping (Diospyrus kaki L.) has grown in importance over the last years in Brazil, both in terms of acreage and production‟s increase, which has raised the amount of fruits offered to the domestic market
The aim of this study is to evaluate the phenology, yield and fruit physicochemical characteristics of four persimmon cultivars (Diospyros kaki L.) in São Paulo’s Midwest countryside, Brazil
„Rubi‟ and „Fuyu‟ persimmon cultivars took more time to reach closed flower buds and branch development stages, it was possible to notice that the petals remained closed until 58 and 64 days after pruning (DAP), respectively, differently from „Pomelo‟ and „Rama Forte‟ crops, which reached the same stage in 41 and 59 DAP, respectively (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Persimmon cropping (Diospyrus kaki L.) has grown in importance over the last years in Brazil, both in terms of acreage and production‟s increase, which has raised the amount of fruits offered to the domestic market. The little commercial interest the culture kept for a long time and the easy production, due to the roughness and high yield of the crops, have been some of the factors responsible for slowing down studies that seek new culture technologies developed for the crop (Pereira and Kavati, 2011)

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Results