Abstract
The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomical performance of 'Piemonte' mandarin grafted on 11 rootstocks grown under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Coastal Tablelands, in the state of Sergipe, Brazil. The following combined agronomical parameters were evaluated: vegetative growth, abundance of phytophagous mites, plant yield, drought tolerance, and physicochemical quality of fruit. 'Piemonte' mandarin had the best productive performance when grafted on 'Santa Cruz Rangpur' lime, 'Red Rough' lemon, 'Sunki Tropical' mandarin, and 'Riverside' citrandarin, and it was more tolerant to drought when grafted on 'Santa Cruz Rangpur' lime and on the LVK x LCR-010 hybrid. Rootstocks did not affect pest population levels. 'Piemonte' mandarin grafted on 'Santa Cruz Rangpur' lime and 'Red Rough' lemon produced lower-quality fruit. The 'Indio' and 'San Diego' citrandarins, the HTR-051 hybrid, and 'Swingle' citrumelo have potential for high-density plantings. 'Sunki Tropical' mandarin and 'Riverside' citrandarin are a good option for the diversification of rootstocks in orchards in the agroecosystem of the Brazilian Coastal Tablelands.
Index terms:
Citrus; cohesive soils; fruit quality; planting density; phytophagous mites; yield efficiency
