Page 54 - FRUTAS DEL TRÓPICO

54 Frutas del trópico

canopy that flowers a year or two earlier than normal for early commercial production of
fruit; 2) to stimulate branching in a synchronous vegetative flush of growth throughout the

tree canopy and to remove growth inhibiting panicle structures left from the previous season’s

flowering and crop in preparation for an annual flowering program, and 3) to quickly restore

productivity of shape-pruned or severely pruned trees by stimulating flushes of multiple bran-

ching stems through repeated prunings, which result in increased production.

Shortening the juvenility Period of small trees

Most mango trees arrive from the nursery with only one central stem. After planting, normal

development is characterized by frequent flushes of vegetative growth with little branching,

especially in the popular cultivar, Keitt (Fig. 3A and B). Juvenile trees do not flower due to the

short intervals of two to three months between vegetative flushes (Davenport and Nuñez-

Elisea, 1997; Nuñez-Elisea and Davenport, 1995). It normally takes three to four years to

achieve sufficient numbers of stems and height to reduce this frequency of growth flushes. It is

only then that sufficient stem maturity can be achieved to allow flowering to occur and produ-
ce a commercially viable crop.

Frequent tip pruning of young trees forces frequent initiation of lateral shoots, forming

four to seven shoots per stem with each cut. If this pruning is repeated every three months

using pruning shears or a machete on the subsequent lateral branches, trees begin to form

a full canopy as a result of the exponential increase in branching (Fig. 3C, 3D). For example,

the ‘Keitt’ trees in Figures 3B and 3D are both one year old. The tree in Figure 3B was not

pruned whereas the tree in Figure 3D was pruned three times during the first year of growth.
The flush frequency was already reduced as evidenced by the reduced height of the tip-pru-

ned tree. The fourth prune, done after the photo was taken, was accomplished in August to

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