PHENOLOGICAL GROWTH PATTERNS AND FLORAL MALFORMATION OF MANGO (Mangifera indica L.) TREE UNDER SUBTROPICAL CLIMATE

Vegetative and reproductive growth pattern of mango tree cv. Langra and development of floral malformation were investigated under subtropical conditions. Vegetative flushes emerging during April were tagged for subsequent growth until August and then studied for three consecutive growth seasons. Growth of flushes occurred in alternate month’s pattern. Regrowth frequency of April and April-based flushes decreased overtime. In the next flowering season, April and June flushes produced higher percentage of panicles while malformation intensity was recorded minimum (3.0%) in same flushes as compared to younger August flushes (12.9%). During subsequent growth season after flowering, April flushes contributed only 18.2% in the production of flushes while contribution of June flushes (31.1%) followed by May flushes (28.1%) with maximum. Out of total tagged April flushes, only 38.4% flushes could switch over to panicle production while rest of the 61.6% flushes did not bloom. So, it may be concluded that gradual decline in re-flushing capacity of April and June flushes during current year not only ensure their maximum contribution in next year’s flowering but also cause less floral malformation while late emerging flushes contribute less towards next year’s flowering and produce more floral malformation.