Six citrus cultivars comparatively evaluated as to their fruit and leaf dry weights and nutrient concentrations

Abstract

The experiment was carried out in a commercial citrus orchard located in Mogi-Guaçu (22° 22'S., 46° 56'WGr.), State of São Paulo, Brazil. Five orange types were studied: Cravo (Citrus reticulata Blanco); Hamlin (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck); Natal (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck); Valencia (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) and Pera (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) and a tangerine Murcott (Citrus reticulata Blanco x Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck). Fruits were picked from 30 days after flowering to the peak of commercial harvest. Leaves nearest the fruits were collected at the same time as the fruits. Sampled material was used to determine: fruit dry weight, macronutrient and micronutrient concentration in the leaves, nutrient extraction by the fruits, juice production per fruit and ascorbic acid concentration in the juice. Fruit dry weight increased following the second month after flowering. Except for Cravo orange fruit dry weight decreased at the end of the cycle. Macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations in the leaves showed variations during fruit development. Rate of nutrient extraction in decreasing order was: K, N, Ca, Mg, P = S, Fe, B, Zn, Mn and Cu. The cultivar that exported the largest amount of nutrients was Pera followed by Hamlin = Cravo, Murcott, Valencia and Natal. Juice per fruit ranged between 43 and 95 mililiters whereas ascorbic acid concentration ranged between 30 and 95 miligrams per 100 mililiters of juice.