Plant growth and production quality can be influenced by environmental characteristics and sunlight exposure of plants and fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate physico-chemical characteristics in relation to canopy distribution of 'Ponkan' mandarin fruits submitted to chemical thinning in a commercial orchard. Four treatments were tested, set in 2 x 2 factorial scheme with eight randomized block replications. The factors were Ethephon concentrations (0 and 600 mg L-1 and two quadrants of canopy fruit distribution (east and west). The 'Ponkan' mandarin fruits located in the west quadrant presented greater size and solid soluble content and lesser acidity, as compared to those in the east quadrant. Chemical thinning with Ethephon application improved the quality of the 'Ponkan' mandarin fruits in all the canopy positions analyzed.
Citrus reticulata; Ethephon; fruit quality
