Abstract
In cultural practice of Harumanis tree, plant growth regulator such as paclobutrazol is applied at late vegetative stage to induce flowering. However, starting from 2020 to 2023, there is a sharp yield reduction due to the unexpected weather condition. Unexpected heavy rain had caused Harumanis flower to drop from the panicle before the pollination occur. Due to this problem, ethephon was identified as an alternative plant growth regulator for flower induction. Ethephon is an ethylene releasing agent that help mediate many aspects in plant growth and development such as shoot development and flower induction. Thus, the objective of this study is to observe the influence of ethephon application during off-season on vegetative growth stage and flower induction of harumanis tree. Total of 32 Harumanis trees (3 years old) in Research Plot, Unit Ladang Universiti Teknologi MARA Perlis were treated with ethephon in September 2023 by foliar spray until run-off on the plant canopy. Treatments were arranged according to Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with three different concentrations of ethephon and being diluted 2 hours before application which are 400 ppm, 600 ppm, and 800 ppm and control (without application). The parameters were recorded 2 weeks interval: number of leaves, number of buds, length of bud, relative chlorophyll content, stomatal density, day to flowering, and number of flower panicles. The vegetative growth stage shows significant difference among concentrations applied where number of leaves is higher with 400 ppm. Meanwhile, the flower formation occurs after 2 months and 4 months of ethephon application at treatment of 800 ppm and 400 ppm respectively. However, there is no significant difference presented on the Harumanis physiological characteristics. As from this study, it can be concluded that the application of ethephon influences the growth of performance and flower formation of Harumanis when applied with specific concentration.
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