Fruit Yield in Sweet Orange Trees under Huanglongbing (HLB) Conditions Is Influenced by Reproductive Phenological Characteristics of the Scion-Rootstock Combination

Daniel A. Boakye and Fernando Alferez ()
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Daniel A. Boakye: Horticultural Sciences Department, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF-IFAS), University of Florida, 2685 SR 29 N, Immokalee, FL 34142, USA
Fernando Alferez: Horticultural Sciences Department, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF-IFAS), University of Florida, 2685 SR 29 N, Immokalee, FL 34142, USA

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: Since greening (aka HLB), the most economically devastating disease of citrus worldwide was detected in Florida in 2005, citrus acreage and fruit production has reduced by more than 70%. Transmitted by the insect vector Asian citrus psyllid, the disease results in exacerbated preharvest drop, smaller fruit, and a rapid decline of trees leading to a significant reduction of yield. Currently, there is no cure for the disease. A strategy to cope with the disease relies on identifying tolerant or more productive varieties, and understanding factors that make them more productive. Under these circumstances, a combination of rootstock and scion that results in better fruit yield is highly desirable. In this paper we investigated phenological attributes of the main sweet orange varieties planted in Florida, Hamlin and Valencia, grafted on Swingle and US-942 rootstocks, two of the most used rootstocks by Florida citrus growers. Our goal was to better understand the phenology associated with the consistently higher yields of trees grafted on US-942. We assessed fruiting characteristics and abscission dynamics of fruit and leaves. We found that trees on US-942 rootstock, especially from Valencia scion, significantly set more terminals than cluster fruit; terminal fruit is larger and experiences less drop resulting in better yields. In general, rootstock did not have a significant influence on the fruit-bearing characteristics in Hamlin. Similarly, we found that fruit detachment force was not significantly influenced by rootstock. Our results show that in an HLB endemic situation, fruiting characteristics should be considered when selecting rootstocks and rootstock–scion combinations, so genetics resulting in larger, single fruits per fruiting branch should be favored.

Keywords: abscission; citrus greening; Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck; fruit drop; yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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