Ethylene synthesis in mango ‘Palmer’ production

Abstract

Ethylene is an important hormone in the floral induction process of the mango tree. However, climatic conditions such as the high temperatures that occur in the Brazilian semi-arid can raise the levels of ethylene and cause abortion of flowers and fruits, impairing the production. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of the ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor complex (Ni, Co and Mo) on flowering and ‘Palmer’ mango production. The experiment was set up in a randomized block design with six treatments and four replications. The treatments were five increasing levels of the commercial product Profol NiCoMo Dry® (Ni: 2.4%, Co: 1.2% and Mo: 26%) at concentrations of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 g L(‑1) and a control, in a volume of 800 L ha(‑1), at pre-flowering. Three weekly applications were carried out, starting with the second application of nitrate for floral induction. Evaluations were made for the number and length of panicles; number of fruits branch(‑1) of the sun rising side (NFRN), of the west side (NFRP) and total (NFR); length, diameter and fruit mass. The increase in the levels of Profol NiCoMo Dry up to 1.25 g L(‑1) promoted a linear increase in panicle length, fruit set and total number of fruit plant‑1, resulting in a linear reduction of fruit size (mass), without compromising the commercial standard. Increasing levels of Profol NiCoMo Dry up to 1.25 g L(‑1) promoted a cubic response in fruit yield, with the lowest obtained (23.30 t ha‑1) when using 0.1 g L(‑1) and the maximum (36.20 t ha(‑1)) for the level of 1.23 g L(‑1).