Five Rootstocks for “Emperor” Mandarin Under Subtropical Climate in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Rootstocks modulate several characteristics of citrus trees, including vegetative growth, fruit yield and quality, and resistance or tolerance to pests, diseases, soil drought, and salinity, among other factors. There is a shortage of scion and rootstock cultivars among the combinations planted in Brazil. “Ponkan” mandarin and “Murcott” tangor grafted on “Rangpur” lime comprise the majority of the commercial mandarin orchards in Brazil. This low genetic diversity of citrus orchards can favor pest and disease outbreaks. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance, Huanglongbing (HLB) tolerance, and fruit quality of “Emperor” mandarin on five different rootstocks for nine cropping seasons under the subtropical soil-climate conditions of the North region of the state of Paraná, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized block, with six replications, two trees per block, and five rootstocks, including “Rangpur” lime, “Cleopatra,” and “Sunki” mandarins, “Swingle” citrumelo, and “Fepagro C-13” citrange. The evaluations included tree growth, yield performance, fruit quality, and HLB disease incidence. “Emperor” mandarin trees grafted on “Rangpur” lime and “Swingle” citrumelo had early fruiting and high yield efficiency. “Rangpur” lime also induced the lowest tree growth, but low fruit quality. Trees on “Swingle” citrumelo and “Fepagro C-13” citrange showed low scion and rootstock affinity and produced fruits with high total soluble solids (TSS), with a lower number of seeds for those from trees on “Fepagro C-13” citrange. “Cleopatra” and “Sunki” mandarins induced higher juice content, while fruits from trees on “Cleopatra” also had higher TSS/titratable acidity (TA) ratio. “Emperor” mandarin trees were susceptible to HLB regardless of the rootstocks. Overall, “Cleopatra” and “Sunki” mandarins, “Swingle” citrumelo, and “Fepagro C-13” are more suitable rootstocks for “Emperor” mandarin under Brazilian subtropical conditions than “Rangpur” lime.

Late-Season Sweet Orange Selections Under Huanglongbing and Citrus Canker Endemic Conditions in the Brazilian Humid Subtropical Region

“…No overgrowth between scion and rootstock or tree decline was observed 9 years after planting. Our results are in agreement with previous reports indicating a broad affinity of Rangpur lime rootstock with several sweet orange cultivars and their relatives (Alves et al, 2021;Carvalho et al, 2021aCarvalho et al, , 2022Cruz et al, 2021;Paula et al, 2022).…”

Comparative Transcriptomic and Physiological Analyses Reveal Key Factors for Interstocks to Improve Grafted Seedling Growth in Tangor

“…In recent years, rootstock research in the citrus context has become an important topic [ 20 ]. However, little information is available regarding the direct effects of interstocks on scion physiology and the mechanisms of rootstock–interstock–scion interaction.…”

Possible economic losses on the oranges production chain of Peru due to introduction of Huanglongbing (HLB): Simulation of prospective scenarios to 2045

“…Symptoms may not become apparent until two years after infection, and the affected tree is no longer economically viable between five and eight years (Bové et al, 2006;Lin et al, 2017;Pandey et al, 2022;Spreen & Baldwin, 2013;Thakuria et al, 2023). The disease was first reported in Brazil, specifically in the State of São Paulo in 2004 (De Carvalho et al, 2019;Zorzenon et al, 2021), followed by cases in Minas Gerais in 2005 (Alves et al, 2022;Sulzbach et al, 2018) and Paraná in 2006 (Cruz et al, 2021;Sauer et al, 2015). In the United States, it emerged in Florida in 2005 (Lin et al, 2023;Lopez & Durborow, 2014;Zapien-Macias et al, 2022) and California in 2008(McRoberts et al, 2019Nguyen et al, 2023).…”