Growth and compatibility traits of different citrus rootstocks under mid-hill condition

Abstract

A study was carried out during 2022–23 at ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hills Region, Umiam, Meghalaya to find out the performance of Khasi mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) on different rootstocks. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with 10 treatments, viz. T1, Karna khata; T2, Trifoliate orange; T3, Rough lemon; T4, Rangpur lime; T5, Khasi papeda; T6, Taiwanica; T7, Volkameriana; T8, Tanzelodancy; T9, Pummelo; and T10, Cleopatra mandarin with 5 replications. With regards to grafting success, Rough lemon had the highest percentage, which was at par with Rangpur lime and Volkameriana, whereas Trifoliate orange had the lowest success rate. Maximum plant height, rootstock and scion diameter were noted in the rootstock of Rough lemon whereas highest number of leaves (17.33) and branches/plant (3.23) were recorded in Trifoliate orange. Through correlation analysis it was found that plant height was highly significantly correlated with rootstock diameter (r2 = 0.747, P<0.05) and vice versa. Number of leaves/plant had high correlations with number of branches/plant (r2 = 0.923, P<0.01) and scion diameter (r2 = 0.865, P<0.01). Also, a significant correlation was found between scion diameter and number of branches/plant (r2 = 0.801, P<0.01).

Keywords

• Citrus, Graft success, Mandarin, Propagation, Rootstock