Response of Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) to high density planting systems

Abstract

High density planting system i.e. accommodating a higher number of plants than routine in a given area is an innovative agro-technology to increase yield and thereby early net returns. Due to conventional wide spacing plantation in Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco), the land remains unutilized as the plant canopy gradually increases over the years. In the present study, Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) budded on Rangpur lime rootstock was evaluated under six different planting spacings. It was observed that the organic carbon (1.10–1.82%) and major nutrients viz. N (309–430 kg ha−1), P (20–54 kg ha−1) and K (291–810 kg ha−1) increased vis-à-vis plant density and was highest under 2 × 2 m spacing. Plants were tallest at 2 × 2 m spacing with the higher PAR interception (88.2) and the lowest leaf area index (1.09). Fruit yield on area basis, under 2 × 2 m spacing was 26, 7.1, 4.6 times more as compared to conventional plantation during the first, second and third year, respectively. At fifth year of crop harvest, the highest B:C ratio (6.36) was recorded in 6 × 3 m followed by 4 × 2 m and 2 × 2 m.

Viabilidade de redução do espaçamento de plantio da tangerineira Ponkan enxertada em trifoliateiro Flying Dragon

“…O aumento do volume de copa por hectare se deve ao maior número de plantas, conferido pelos espaçamentos menores, já que o volume individual das copas não diferiu entre os tratamentos. O maior volume de copa está relacionado positivamente com maior interceptação da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa incidente na área (Ladaniya et al, 2021), o que proporcionou maior produtividade por hectare da comunidade de plantas de Ponkan/FD. Costa et al (2021) concluíram que a produtividade estimada em porta-enxertos selecionados de híbridos de Sunki e FD dobraria para uma média de 40 t ha -1 por ano se o espaçamento das árvores fosse ajustado para o menor tamanho da copa.…”

The Perfect Match: Adjusting High Tree Density to Rootstock Vigor for Improving Cropping and Land Use Efficiency of Sweet Orange

“…Hence, their productivity was always lower: Valencia sweet oranges on allotetraploid Swingle citrumelo rootstock at 1000 trees•ha −1 accumulated only 153 t•ha −1 from 2014 to 2020, even with a 40% increase over 513 trees•ha −1 , while trees on IAC 1710 at 513 and 1000 trees•ha −1 accumulated 286 and 367 t•ha −1 , respectively (Table S3). This clearly demonstrated that productive rootstocks are crucial to boost citrus productivity in the subtropics, with the advantage of causing minimal impact on the production cost compared with increasing tree density [20,22,67].…”

“…Regardless of its potential to boost early productivity, high-tree-density plantings require greater investment and may lead to the reduction of yield due to excessive tree crowding and difficulties in operations [22]. To address such limitations, the tree size control has been evaluated in high-density citrus orchards, including the use of pruning [23], training systems [24], irrigation [25], and dwarfing rootstocks [26].…”

A Mini Review of Citrus Rootstocks and Their Role in High-Density Orchards

“…In Japan, orchards of Wase satsuma mandarin with a density of up to 10,000 plants ha −1 were evaluated via long-term tests [ 23 ]. Recent research conducted in India with Nagpur mandarin on Rangpur lime rootstock determined that a high-density planting was regarded as one that included between 555 and 625 plants ha −1 and that an ultra-high-density planting was considered as one that contained between 1250 and 2500 plants ha −1 [ 13 ]. Therefore, long-term experiments will be needed to examine commercial citrus cultivars with dwarfing rootstocks to determine optimal plant density under modern production circumstances.…”

“…High-density (HD) planting systems are an innovative approach that helps improve yield, and net returns, particularly in the early stages of orchard development, by accommodating more plants per unit area than traditional planting systems [ 13 ]. Precocity, low cost per unit production and the potential for higher mechanization with improved input use efficiency are the main benefits of intensive cultivation systems.…”