Abstract
Four different fruit thinning methods in mango (Mangifera indica) were tested. The trial was conducted at Bavaria Estate, around Hoedspruit area. Northern province of South Africa (latitude, 24° 25' S, longitude, 30°54' E, elevation, 600 m). The thinning treatments were carried out from October 2001 to September 2002 before the occurrence of natural fruit drop. Different parameters were observed (both qualitative and quantitative) with varying laboratory as well as field measurements. The objective of the study was to quantify the effects of different thinning intensities. It was observed that where fruits on 'Sensation' mango panicles were thinned to one or two fruits per panicle, a significantly (P = 0.01) higher result was obtained for most of the quantitative parameters. The fruits of the treatment where one fruit per panicle was retained and 50% panicles removed, produced significantly (P = 0.01) higher results for fruit weight at harvest and for most of the qualitative parameters.
