The relation between carbohydrate content in leaves and flowers on flower drops and productivity of ‘Monthong’ durian

Abstract

The carbohydrate content in leaves and flowers is one of the crucial factors involved in flower development, which leads to fruit set and yield productivity. Durian is currently the most economically valuable fruit crop; however, it has a significant management cost throughout fruit production. This study finds out the relation between carbohydrate content in leaves and flowers on flower drops and productivity of Monthong durian for the basic information on durian production for reducing flower drops and increasing the fruit yield. The study was conducted on 10 consistency sizes and the canopy of 9–10-year-old durian trees. The leaf and flower samples were collected to determine carbohydrate content (glucose, sucrose, fructose, and starch) at 3 stages of flower development, including floral bud formation (FBF), floral bud with calyx (FBC), and fruit initiation (FI) stages. The percentage of flower drops (FD) and fruit set was recorded. From the data of the FD, durian trees can be separated into three groups: low (60%–70%), medium (70%–87%), and high (82%–93%). Then, the durian trees in each group were analyzed for their relationship with carbohydrate content, and it was found that the low FD group had the highest content of all types of carbohydrates, especially during the FI stage. The group with low FD had the highest percentage of fruit set. However, no significant correlation was found between the carbohydrate content in flowers and leaves and fruit set. For fruit quality, every group of durians had a similar fruit weight, width, and length circumference. However, the low-FD group tended to have the highest flesh weight of the others. From the data, it can be indicated that carbohydrate contents affected flower drops and flower development. The high carbohydrate content of glucose, sucrose, and fructose in flowers and leaves was associated with better flower development,