GROWTH REGULATORS AND FLOWERING IN JUVENILE MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA L.) SEEDLINGS

Nucellar seedlings of polyembryonic mango varieties are useful for the study of the physiology of juvenility and flowering because of their genetic uniformity.
Studies on such mango seedlings of different age groups showed that ethephon [(2-Chloroethyl) phosphonic acid] at 1 000 ppm and above could induce flowering in terminal shoot buds.
Profuse cauliflory was also observed in seedlings treated with 4 000 ppm ethephon indicating the potent flower inducing properties of ethephon in mango.
Gibberellic acid at 1 000 ppm applied along with 4 000 ppm ethephon was found to counteract the flower inducing properties of ethephon.
Gibberellic acid at 1 000 ppm applied during November – December, the natural period of flower bud initiation in mango, also prevented flowering in mature seedlings while control plants of the same age group flowered profusely.
The results indicate that endogenous gibberellins may be the natural factors involved in juvenility and the non-flowering condition in mango.

Symposium on Juvenility in Woody Perennials

E.K. Chacko, R.R. Kohli, R.Dore Swamy, G.S. Randhawa

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1976.56.17