Studies on Rejuvenation of Old, Unproductive 'Alphonso' Mango Trees in Orchards

Abstract

A field trial on pruning was conducted from 2004 to 2009 to induce rejuvenation of twenty six year old, unproductive 'Alphonso' mango trees, at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. In the study, three treatments imposed comprised of two pruning treatments, namely 30cm and 45cm pruning of third order branches from the point of origin, and a control (no pruning). Pruning increased the mean cumulative fruit yield for four years, which was almost double that of control, although the two pruning treatments were on par. Maximum mean cumulative fruit yield (86.3kg/plant) was obtained with 30cm pruning, whereas control treatment recorded a fruit yield of 47.2kg/plant. Fruit quality attributes such as average fruit-weight, TSS, acidity and shelf-life were not affected by the two pruning treatments, for rejuvenation of 'Alphonso' mango.