Effect of Pruning Severity on Flowering and Fruiting of Mango (Mangifera indica) cv. Alphonso in Off-Year Season

THIS study was conducted in two successive seasons 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 in a private orchard to evaluate the effect of after setting pruning (at the first week of June) of non bearing shoots in the On-year for enhancing some flowering and fruiting attributes in the next off-year of Alphonso mango cultivar . Trees were subjected to four pruning treatments, removing half length of the terminal shoots, removing the whole terminal shoots , tipping and the control (without pruning). The highest number of emerged shoots per pruned shoot was achieved by removing half length of the terminal shoots, this treatment recorded the highest reserve of total sugars and C/N ratio in the leaves at the time of flower bud differentiation, moreover this treatment was fulfilled the highest number of flowering shoots, number of panicles per tree, panicle length, perfect flowers percentage, fruit retention and yield. Removing half length of the terminal shoots in On-year of Alphonso mango cultivar proved to be the most effective treatment to regulate tree yield of Alphonso cultivar.