Vol. 79 No: 2

Title:
Effect of nitrogen on the skin colour and other quality attributes of ripe 'Kensington Pride' mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit

Authors:
H NGUYEN, P HOFMAN, R HOLMES, I BALLY, B STUBBINGS, R MCCONCHIE,

pp: 204-210

Abstract:
Near-ripe ´Kensington Pride` mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit with green skin colour generally return lower wholesale and retail prices. Pre-harvest management, especially nitrogen (N) nutrition, appears to be a major causal factor. To obtain an understanding of the extent of the problem in the Burdekin district (dry tropics; the major production area in Australia), green mature ´Kensington Pride` mango fruit were harvested from ten orchards and ripened at 20 ± 0.5 ° C. Of these orchards, 70&percent; produced fruit with more than 25&percent; of the skin surface area green when ripe.The following year, the effect of N application on skin colour and other quality attributes was investigated on three orchards, one with a high green (HG) skin problem and two with a low green (LG) skin problem. N was applied at pre-flowering and at panicle emergence at the rate of 0, 75, 150, 300 g per tree (soil applied) or 50 g per tree as foliar N for the HG orchard, and 0, 150, 300, 450 g per tree (soil applied) or 50 g per tree (foliar) for the LG orchards. In all orchards the proportion of green colour on the ripe fruit was significantly (P<0.05) higher with soil applications of 150 g N or more per tree. Foliar sprays resulted in a higher proportion of green colour than the highest soil treatment in the HG orchard, but not in the LG orchards. Anthracnose disease severity was significantly (P<0.05) higher with 300 g of N per tree or foliar treatment in the HG orchard, compared with no additional N.Thus, N can reduce mango fruit quality by increasing green colour and anthracnose disease in ripe fruit.

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