Performance of ‘Tahiti’ acid lime on new rootstocks resistant to citrus gummosis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the vegetative growth of ‘Tahiti’ acid lime on citrus rootstocks. The experiment was established in December 2016 at the Federal Institute of Mato Grosso, Guarantã do Norte Campus, MT. The experimental design was a randomized block with 13 treatments, four replications, and five plants/plot. The treatments included commercial and hybrid rootstocks, named and coded as follows: ‘Cravo Santa Cruz’ lemon tree (LCRSC), ‘Cravo CNPMF - 03’ lemon  tree (LCR-03), ‘Swingle’ citrumelo (CTSW), ‘Sunki Tropical’ tangerine tree (TSKTR), ‘San Diego’ citrandarin (CTRSD), ‘Indio’ citrandarin (CTRI), HTR - 069, TSKC x TRFD - 003, TSKC x TRFD - 006, TSKC x CTSW - 028, TSKC x (LCR x TR) - 059, LVK x LCR - 038, and LRF x (LCR x TR) - 005. The planting spacing and density were 6.25 m x 2.75 m, 582 plants per hectare. The variables assessed were plant height, rootstock and grafting trunk diameter, rootstock/grafting compatibility ratio, vegetative vigor index (IVV), and canopy diameter and volume. All rootstock/scion combinations exhibited graft compatibility and vegetative growth of the canopy in accordance with the physiology of ‘Tahiti’ acid lime up to 36 months of age. Except for CTRSD, the largest canopy volumes and IVV were observed in plants on commercial rootstocks, while HTR - 069 and LRF x (LCR x TR) - 005 induced the lowest values, with LRF x (LCR x TR) - 005 resulting in the smallest plant height.