Importance of potassium and ringing in the performance and quality of litchi fruit

Abstract

The litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn) is an internationally demanded fruit, grown in several states of Mexico with profitable prices, although with low yields. The objective of the research was to determine the effect of potassium and ringing on the yield and quality of the litchi cv Brewster fruit. A completely random block experiment was established, with a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement with 10 repetitions. Factor A consisted of three levels of potassium (300, 600, 900 g per tree^-1). Factor B in two levels of banding in the branches (absence and presence), so that six resulting treatments were evaluated. The results indicate that the factors A and B, as well as their interaction, are determinant to increase the yield, although they affect little to the quality of the fruit. The levels of factor A and B that have the greatest effect on the yield, are 900 g of potassium and the presence of ringing respectively, so treatment six that combines both factors, records the highest performance. Low doses of potassium produce low yields, while ringing alone doubles it. The factors A and B present individual effects for the variables weight loss (PPF) and pH of the fruit, although the effect of the interaction only occurs for the pH. It is concluded that the contribution of 900 g tree^-1 of potassium and the ringed in litchi trees, individually and combined positively affect the yield and little to the quality of the fruit.