PERFORMANCE OF SOME CITRUS VARIETIES ON SEVERAL ROOTSTOCKS - INFLUNCE ON LEAF MINERAL CONTENT AND LEAF MINERS INFECTION

Abstract

This investigation was carried out in 2012 and 2013 seasons on 2 and 3-year-old Washington Navel orange (WO), Valencia orange (VO) and Balady mandarin (BM) budding on five Citrus rootstocks namely; C. volkameriana (VM), Troyer citrange (TC). Rangpur lime (RL), Cleopatra mandarin (CM) and sour orange (SO) grown in a private farm at Menofia Governorate, Egypt, where the soil is slightly saline alkaline clayey. The results indicated that Valencia orange, Washington Navel oranges and Balady mandarin as scion varieties on C. volkaneriana and Rangpur lime rootstocks are characterized by: higher leaf concentrations of N, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Zn, lower C/N, N/K and higher K/Na ratio compared to other rootstocks while, leaf P and Mn showed no consistent trend. Moreover, these rootstocks had higher ability to reduce Na and Cl absorption and its accumulation in leaves of the three scion varieties in contrast to the other rootstocks. Also, they had the least values of leaf miners infection. Generally, the five tested rootstocks could be descending arranged due to their effects on these characters of the three scion varieties (WO, VO and BM) under this study conditions as follow: (VM), (RL), (TC & SO) and finally (CM). Accordingly, both rootstocks (VM & RL) may be considered as suitable substitutes for sour orange in Egypt. This evaluation could be of great impact for nurserymen and citrus growers. It help growers to select the right rootstock for the desired variety in a given area.