Effects of Training Pattern and Potassium Chlorate on Quality and Yield of Longan

Abstract

The study on 4-training patterns for the 5-year-old longan tree cv. Daw since the date of planting was designed on the common practice (6x6 m), vase-shaped type (6x6 m), hedgerow type (2x4 m) and round-shaped type (3x4 m). All of the trees were forced for flowering by soil drench KClO₃ at 100 g/tree at Hariphunchai Longan Study and Development Centre, Lum Phun Province. This experiment was designed to completely randomized design and conducted during December 2005 – November 2006. The results showed that the number of inflorescence of the common practice had much more than the other patterns and the yield was 26.87 kg/tree. The training of the hedgerow type gave the maximum yield of fruit weight per unit area (Rai), weight per tree was 17.63 kg. The ratio of fruit size graded into AA:A:B:C on the hedgerow type which showed the bigger fruit size more than the other patterns. However, the fruit qualities were no significant difference between the training.

The analysis of total nonstructural carbohydrates, total sugars and reducing sugars in shoots and leaves of the different training patterns showed similarly increasing in the first week to the third week after treated by KClO₃ and decreased in the forth week at flower emergence stage. However, these analyses in stem apices were the least in fifth week and increasing in sixth week.