TAHITI LIME DEVELOPMENT AND TIP SHOOT PRUNING

Abstract

Tahiti lime (Citrus latifolia Tan) growing in Veracruz, México may have from four to six blooming periods through the year. However, the fruit yield varies through the seasons, since it is high from May to October but sold at a low price, and scarce in the winter when it gets the highest market price. The purpose of this study was to increase the number of vegetative shoots from June to July which could be induced to flower during the fall and so to increase the winter fruit yield. The study was carried out during 1990 and 1991 using six-year-old trees, which were pruned in 4 to 6 dates. The pruning consisted in trimming 10 cm of the apical shoots. The best treatment in both years, was the May pruning because it produced 44 % more shoots than the control trees. However, these responses may vary depending on the soil moisture condition.