Paclobutrazol in the flowering management affects the quality of Malpighia emarginata fruits

Erivan Dos Santos Sousa,Luciana Guimarães Sanches,Ítalo Herbert Lucena Cavalcante,Daniel De Almeida Carreiro,Jackson Teixeira Lobo,Dayanne Do Nascimento Dias

doi:10.1590/1983-40632020v5062805

Abstract

ABSTRACT Floral management using the growth regulator paclobutrazol may be an alternative for promoting the uniformity of flowering and fruiting in West Indian cherry (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) plants. However, the effects of its use on fruit quality are still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of paclobutrazol doses on the fruit quality of M. emarginata. The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement, with three replications and three plants per plot, with the studied factors consisting of two M. emarginata cultivars ('Junko' and 'Flor Branca') and five paclobutrazol doses (0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6 g a.i. m-1 of canopy diameter). The following variables were evaluated: fruit mass, fruit transverse and longitudinal diameters, pH, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio and vitamin C content. The use of paclobutrazol, to some extent, promoted the increase of fruit mass, longitudinal diameter and soluble solids contents. The 'Junko' cultivar presented a higher vitamin C content than that for 'Flor Branca', and the maximum vitamin C contents were obtained with the paclobutrazol doses of 0.64 and 0.81 g a.i. m-1, respectively for the 'Junko' and 'Flor Branca' cultivars. None of the studied factors promoted differences for pH and fruit acidity.

Highlights

West Indian cherry (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) is a fruit species of the Malpighiaceae family, whose origin is undefined, it has been reported to be native to the Caribbean and Antilles islands and commonly found in South America, Central America and southern Mexico (Moura et al 2018)
According to the results of the analysis of variance (Table 2), there was a significant effect of the cultivar factor on fruit mass, fruit transverse and longitudinal diameters, vitamin C and solids/titratable acidity ratio (SS/TA) ratio
In a survey conducted in the São Francisco Valley, the same region in which this study was conducted, Batista et al (2015) reported that, for the ‘Flor Branca’ cultivar, the mean fruit mass was 4.09 g, a value 27.87 % lower than that obtained in the present study

Summary

Introduction

West Indian cherry (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) is a fruit species of the Malpighiaceae family, whose origin is undefined, it has been reported to be native to the Caribbean and Antilles islands and commonly found in South America, Central America and southern Mexico (Moura et al 2018). Despite all the advantages associated with the nutraceutical properties of the fruit, its agronomic exploration faces some difficulties, mainly related to flowering and fruiting management. This plant presents an uneven and continuous flowering after outbreaks of vegetative growth, which provides a simultaneous presence of flowers and fruits in various stages of development, a factor that increases harvest and production costs (Almeida et al 2014)

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