Abstract

AGUAS ATLAHUA, Aristarco; GARCIA PEREZ, Eliseo  and  RUIZ ROSADO, Octavio. Flowering and fruiting of litchi under different agroecological conditions in Veracruz, Mexico. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2017, vol.8, n.3, pp.621-633. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v8i3.36.

The litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) in Mexico, has had a significant increase in plantations in the last two decades, settled in warm regions in several cases, where there is a very marked alternation of production. The objective was to evaluate the flowering and fruiting of litchi, in orchards with different agroecological conditions and management, in the central and northern regions of the state of Veracruz in the 2010 year. Six contrasting orchards were selected, five with cv. Mauritius and one with 'Brewster', and in each one maximum and minimum temperature thermometers were placed. In order to follow the sprout length, inflorescences, berthing of fruits and harvested fruits, four sprout were marked per cardinal point, in 10 trees per orchard. The floral and vegetative sprouts were counted per m2 of tree top, in the middle part of the tree. A physical-chemical analysis of the soil was carried out in each orchard. In order to know the management, a questionnaire was applied to the producers. The altitude of the orchards was between 7 and 732 m, minimum temperatures ranged from 13.5 to 18.1 °C, which influenced the flowering response, where the Tuxpan 71.63% and Yecuatla orchards stood out with 66.28%. The fruiting and yield presented variation according to the cultivar, temperatures and management practices; for ‘Mauritius’, the outstanding orchards were Tuxpan with 7.4 t ha-1 and Yecuatla with 3.6 t ha-1. For ‘Brewster’ the yield was 4.1 t ha-1, in the Tolome orchard.

Keywords : Litchi chinensis; flowering; minimum temperature; orchard management; production.