A study on flower bud differentiation for off-season mango production using ultra high-density planting

The present study was conducted in Jain Irrigation System LTD from 2023 to 2024 to find the flower bud differentiation (FBD) process in ultra-high-density planting (UHDP) systems for off-season mango production using cv: Ratna and Bangalora and the associated morphological and biochemical changes under specific agro-climatic conditions. Observations were taken from August 10, 2023, to analyse FBD phases and their associated physiological changes. The process of fruit bud initiation began on August 20th in all cultivars. From August 20th to December 14th, the initiation and differentiation of fruit buds showed a progressive increase, with the highest number of fruit buds undergoing differentiation during this period. The differentiation process continued further, with the buds reaching an advanced stage of development by December 19th. Five distinct stages of FBD were recognised during the current study. The initiation of FBD was started in the second week of August, reaching its peak by the second week of December and concluding by the third week of December. During the progression of FBD, a significant increase in the total carbohydrate fraction (%) and C/N ratio was recorded, with the C/N ratio peaking at the maximum differentiation stage. Conversely, the total nitrogen fraction (%) exhibited a consistent decline, reaching its lowest at the peak FBD stage. The findings provide critical insights into optimizing UHDP practices for enhancing off-season mango flowering and production in the selected cultivars.