Comparative of Qualitative and Quantitative Characteristics of Four Commercial Mandarin Cultivars on 'Flying Dragon' Rootstock

Abstract

'Flying dragon' is one of the citrus rootstocks that are considered to be a promised dwarfing rootstock in the world. This experiment was conducted in the Astara research station for study of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of 4 mandarin cultivars (Unshiu, Clementine, Page, and Yunesi) budded on 'Flying dragon'. This experiment was carried out with four cultivars in randomized complete bloke design (RCBD) with three replications. Qualitative and quantitative characteristics of fruits, as well as vegetative traits were recorded and analyzed for 3, 6 and 1 years, respectively. The highest yield was observed on Yunesi cultivar in the final year of experiments and the lowest yield was on Unshiu cultivar in the fifth year. TSS/TA and means of fruit weight were affected by interaction of year and cultivar. The highest means of fruit weight was on Yunesi in the years of 85 and the highest TSS/TA was in years of 88 on Clementine cultivar. The highest alternate bearing index obtained in years of 88 on the Unshiu cultivar and the lowest that was on the Page cultivar. The highest yield efficiency, cumulative yield and plant height were observed on Yunesi cultivar, and the highest width and canopy of tree were on Unshiu cultivar. The lowest yield and tree size were on Page cultivar.

Keywords

• Flying dragon
• Mandarin
• Yield
• Morphology