Determination of Nursery Plant Development of New Mandarin Varieties Grafted on Carrizo Citrange Rootstock

Abstract

Originating in southeast Asia, citrus currently have a large geographical distribution around the world. Sourced in tropical and semitropical regions, cultivation of citrus for the table is mainly focused in subtropical regions. The study aimed to fully determine the compatibility status for the Carrizo citrange with new mandarin varieties and the rootstock-scion relationships. As rootstock Carrizo citrange (Poncirus trifoliata x Citrus sinensis) was used with Dart, Mandalate, Mihowase, Tango and W. Murcott mandarin used as varieties. Grafting was completed on 10 April 2016 with T bud grafting and the graft band was opened 1 month after grafting with rootstock diameter (mm), scion diameter (mm) and shoot length (cm) measured one time per month and the differences between varieties in terms of these characteristics were revealed. The highest rootstock diameter measurement was in the Dart variety, with highest scion diameter value in the Mihowase variety. When seedling development is evaluated, sapling crown height of 60-65 cm was first reached by the Tango variety at the end of October, followed by W. Murcott, Mihowase, Mandalate and Dart varieties.