Yield and fruit quality evaluation of some new rootstock-scion combinations of sweet orange under agro-climatic conditions of Maharashtra, India

The experiment was conducted to evaluate four rootstocks, viz., Cleopatra tangerine, Rangpur lime, Swingle citrumelo and Volkameriana with five sweet orange cultivars, viz., ‘Hamlin’, ‘Westin’, ‘Natal’, ‘Pera’ and ‘Valencia’ in sandy loam soils (pH 7.5-7.8) at Jalgaon, Maharashtra under humid tropical climate. All the rootstocks-scion combinations showed differential behaviour in terms of yield and fruit quality parameters. Rootstock had a significant effect on plant height and ‘Hamlin’ on Volkameriana recorded maximum plant height (3 m) while ‘Pera’ on Cleopatra tangerine was shortest as compared to other rootstock scion combinations. Volkameriana produced tallest plants followed by Rangpur lime, Swingle citrumelo and Cleopatra tangerine. Swingle citrumelo produced maximum canopy spread and volume while Cleopatra rootstock resulted in smallest canopy. Similarly, maximum rootstock circumference was observed in Swingle citrumelo and minimum in Cleopatra tangerine. Among scion cultivars, maximum circumference was noticed in ‘Hamlin’ and minimum in ‘Westin’. Maximum fruit weight (225 g) was recorded in ‘Natal’ budded on Swingle citrumelo followed by Rangpur lime, Volkameriana and Cleopatra tangerine. Maximum juice content was recorded in ‘Pera’ fruits grown on Cleopatra rootstock while maximum TSS (total soluble solids 9.6%) were recorded in ‘Hamlin’ fruit on Cleopatra rootstock followed by Swingle citrumelo, Rangpur lime and Volkameriana. Fruit colour at maturity was light green to greenish-yellow in early maturing cultivar ‘Hamlin’ while it was yellow to yellow-orange in late maturing ‘Valencia’. Categorization of yield potential of rootstock-scion combination revealed that ‘Hamlin’, ‘Natal’, ‘Valencia’ on Swingle citrumelo could be categorized as “Extremely good” (≥50 t ha^‑1) followed by ‘Hamlin’, ‘Natal’, ‘Valencia’ on Cleopatra rootstock as “Very good” (35-50 t ha^‑1). ‘Natal’ and ‘Westin’ on Rangpur lime and Westin on Volkameriana rootstock were categorized as “Good” with 30-35 t ha^‑1 yield. Rest of the scion-stock combinations were categorized as “Average” with 20-30 t ha^‑1 yield. Volkameriana rootstock produced “Poor” (20 t ha^‑1) yield in most scions except ‘Westin’. Studies for first two cropping years indicated that ‘Hamlin’, ‘Natal’ and ‘Valencia’ among sweet orange scions and Swingle citrumelo, Rangpur lime and Cleopatra tangerine among rootstocks were the best under agro-climatic conditions of Jalgaon, Maharashtra in central India.