TITLE:
Alternancy Study on Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) Tree in Mexico
AUTHORS:
Rubén Joo-Pérez, Carlos Hugo Avendaño-Arrazate, Alfredo Sandoval-Esquivez, Saúl Espinoza-Zaragoza, Moisés Alonso-Báez, José Luís Moreno-Martínez, Rafael Ariza-Flores, Carlos Raúl Morales-Nieto
KEYWORDS:
Nephelium lappaceum L., Water Stress, Pruning, Girdling, Irrigation
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.8 No.1,
January
9,
2017
ABSTRACT: Rambutan growing in the state of Chiapas has brought
about a demand for new plantations; however, this species has several biotic
and abiotic factors that limit its production. These factors include phytosanitary
problems, deficient agronomical handling, and production alternancy. Because of
this, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the
application of agronomical practices such as pruning, ringing, water stress,
and their interaction on the rambutan alternancy. The experiment was carried
out in the “La Chinita” commercial orchard located on KM. 4.5 the Huehuetan Station,
municipality of Huehuetan, Chiapas, Mexico. We used 48 rambutan trees in
production with an age of 14 years. Two production cycles were evaluated. The
experiment was established under a divided plot experimental design in random
complete blocks with a factorial arrangement and six replicates; each tree
being a replicate. The study factors were: water stress, pruning, girdling,
irrigation (control), and their combinations, resulting in eight treatments.
The evaluation was done during flowering, fruit set, and harvest. In flowering,
the treatments with permanent irrigation in both evaluated cycles (2010-2011
and 2011-2012) manifested a production alternancy behavior, with an average
36.4% flowering in the first evaluation cycle and increased to 82.1% in the
second cycle. The treatments with water stress kept a proportional flowering
during the first and second cycles of 97.9% and 95.3%, respectively. The water
stress influenced the bunch weight (PR) variable fruit set with bigger fruits and
higher bunch weight than the irrigated treatments. In production, pruning and
girdling together with water deficit had no alternancy in both production
cycles.