Abstract

COSSIO-VARGAS, Luis Eduardo; SALAZAR-GARCIA, Samuel  and  MEDINA-TORRES, Raúl. Floral development of 'choquette' and 'booth-8' avocados under warm climate: Part I. Agric. Téc. Méx [online]. 2008, vol.34, n.1, pp.43-49. ISSN 0568-2517.

Knowledge of different aspects of vegetative and floral development of Choquette and Booth-8 avocados is necessary to improve their productivity in the avocado producing region of San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico. This research was undertaken from 2004-2006 in one Choquette and one Booth-8 orchard cultivated under rainfed conditions (annual rain= 1 453 mm) in the warm and subhumid climate (average annual temp.= 25.2 °C) of Jalcocotan, San Blas, Mexico. The objectives were: a) to determine the occurrence and intensity of vegetative growth flushes, b) to quantify the contribution of each vegetative flush to bloom, and c) to assess the evolution of floral development for Choquette and Booth-8 avocados. Three vegetative flushes occurred in Choquette: spring, summer, and fall; the spring flush had the greatest intensity. Booth-8 only had two vegetative flushes of similar intensity, spring and summer. Choquette spring vegetative flush had the highest contribution to bloom (57%), followed by summer (39%) and fall (14%) flushes. In Booth-8, the greatest contribution to bloom corresponded to summer vegetative flush (51%). Shoot age (spring or summer) had no effect on the date when both type of shoots attained anthesis in Choquette. The complete floral development process, from closed and pointed vegetative bud to anthesis, in Choquette spring flush shoots required 365 days. Summer shoots of Choquette and Booth-8 needed 255 days.

Keywords : Persea americana; phenology; flowering; vegetative flushes.