Page 308 - FRUTAS DEL TRÓPICO

308 Frutas del trópico

4 to 5 times to mature trees during the warm season. If trees continue to grow during the year
they should be fertilized.

Irrigation of carambola trees

Newly planted trees should be watered every days for the first 3 to 5 days. Established trees

should be watered every 3 to 4 days during dry periods throughout the year. Soil water con-
tent monitoring (i.e., tensiometers) should be used to schedule irrigation. Symptoms of trees

under drought stress include leaf wilting, yellowing and drop and reduced fruit set and size,

and yields.

Mulching carambola trees
Carambola trees grow best at ambient and soil temperatures above 20°C. Mulching trees with 10

to 20 cm of organic mulch has been shown to maintain warmer root temperatures than non-mul-

ched trees. Mulching resulted in more vigorous trees during the late fall, winter, and early spring

periods, earlier flowering and fruiting, and greater fruit production than non-mulched trees.

Pruning and tree size control

The best time to prune trees is during the growing season. By selectively removing limbs,

trees can be easily kept at 2 to 4.5 m high and 4 to 6 m in diameter. Topping to 2 to 4.5 m and

hedging to leave a 2 to 2.5 m drive middle is also practiced. Selective pruning after mechanical

pruning may be desirable.

Off-season bloom induction and fruit production

Bending and/or tipping back long thin shoots 30 to 45 cm may induce flowering and off-season

fruit production on remaining portions of the shoot. Selective pruning to the base collar of

Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas