Folia Horticulturae (Dec 2022)

Does the sunblock alleviate abiotic stress in mango trees grown in the tropical semiarid?

  • Silva Anderson R. L.,
  • Cavalcante Ítalo H. L.,
  • Silva Marcelle A.,
  • Paiva Neto Vespasiano B.,
  • Amariz Renata A.,
  • Amorim Letícia Y. A.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2022-0016
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 34, no. 2
pp. 211 – 221

Abstract

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Mango is the most exported fruit of Brazil, especially grown in São Francisco Valley (tropical semiarid) where there is high temperatures and low air humidity, a condition that can cause stress to plants. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different sunblocks to alleviate the abiotic stress of “Palmer” mango trees grown in a semiarid environment. The experimental design consisted of randomised blocks with six treatments, four repetitions and three plants per plot. The treatments consisted of different strategies of sunblocks as follows: (T1) control (no sunblock); (T2) calcium carbonate (50 g · L−1); (T3) sunblock (5 mL · L−1); (T4) sunblock (5 mL · L−1) + calcium carbonate (50 g · L−1); (T5) sunblock (5 mL · L−1) + sunblock silicon concentrated (20 mL · L−1) and (T6) sunblock (20 mL · L−1). The results indicate a clear action of sunblock in attenuating the abiotic stress of mango, with a persistent effect with time elapsing, considering the evaluated interval. The sunblock clearly promotes a differentiated leaf coverage pattern, protecting the photosynthetic apparatus and increasing its performance and consequently improving the production of plant reserves. The use of calcium carbonate individually promotes a very short protective effect, without positive reflexes after a few days of application. Mango fruit yield is affected by the sunblock with an increase of 4.2 t · ha−1 from the treatment with sunblock (20 mL · L−1) in relation to the control treatment.

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