Standardization of time of budding and sweet orange cultivars on Carrizo rootstock

Abstract

In sexual propagation of citrus long juvenility, genetic impurity and self incompatibility are the major problems. Hence the use of suitable rootstock is a pre-requisite in citrus propagation. Now a days, the cultivation of sweet orange is boosting up among citrus cultivation. Due to this, there is a great need for the evaluation of sweet orange cultivars onto an appropriate rootstock. A research trial was carried out in consideration with ‘Blood Red’, ‘Jaffa’ and ‘Valencia Late’ sweet orange cultivars T-budded on Carrizo rootstock at five different intervals of first week of July, August, September, October and February. The treatments were replicated thrice and statistically arranged in factorial randomized complete block design. As a result of the study significant variations were noticed in the performance of cultivars under study at various budding intervals. Out of the sweet orange cultivars ‘Blood Red’ was the first to initiate sprouting in 28.30 days with healing of bud union in 31.39 days, maximum survival (89.40%), plant height (22.93 cm), number of branches buddling^-1 (1.14), leaf total nitrogen (1.89%), phosphorus (0.07%) and potassium (1.26%). Among budding intervals, the plants budded on the first week of September were the first to sprout in 26.46 days achieving maximum (23.04 cm) plant height, branches buddling^-1 (1.15) root formation of (5.98 cm³) volume and survival percentage (91.99). Commercially, ‘Blood Red’ sweet orange cultivar budded in the first week of September can be cultivated for superior progeny.