DefinePK

Abstract

The information pertaining the performance of Meyer lemon over citrus rootstocks is very limited. Fruit tree rootstocks have varying degrees of tree vigor and growth, salt and drought tolerance, resistance to pest and diseases and leaf mineral application. Sour orange rootstock is more favorable than other citrus rootstocks due to its resistance to gummosis, high flexibility to wide range of soil conditions, and the ability to produce high quality fruits. Therefore the present study was designed to investigate the Viability of Meyer lemon over sour orange rootstock, conducted at Government Fruit Nursery Farm, Jabban, Dargai Malakand Agency, an experiment was conducted during the year 2013. The experiment was laid out Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with one factor repeated three times. Meyer lemon was grafted on different dates (1st May, 1st June and 1st July) on sour orange rootstock, grafting dates significantly affected all the growth attributes expect leaf area. Maximum scion diameter (1cm), number of leaves plant-1 (20), survival percentage (83%), scion length (30cm) and minimum days to sprouting (17) was recorded in plants grafted on 1st June. It is concluded from the present study that Meyer lemon should be grafted at 1st June over sour orange rootstock for better results, hence recommended for the farmers of the agro-climatic condition of Malakand.
Keywords: Viability; Meyer lemon; Sour orange; Rootstock; Timing
http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2016.50042