Sixteen rootstocks were compared in a trial started in 1990, for Murcott tangor, nucellar clone "J", in Itirapina, Brazil. The rootstocks tested were Orlando tangelo (Citrus reticulata Blanco x C. paradisi Macf.), sweet orange [C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck] cv. Caipira DAC, Rangpur lime (C. limonia Osbeck), Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. cv. Kryder 8-5, P. trifoliata (L.) Raf. cv. EEL and the mandarins Cleopatra (C. reshni hort. ex. Tanaka), Sunki [C. sunki (Hayata) hort. ex. Tanaka] and Batangas, Oneco, Swatow, Szinkon, Satsuma, Cravo, Dancy, Suen Kat and Pook Ling Ming (C. reticulata Blanco). Fruit yield was measured per plant, in a period of seven years (1996-2003). The best yielding rootstocks were Cleopatra, Suen Kat, Pook Ling Ming and Sunki mandarins (> 40 kg tree-1). The two Trifoliate, sweet orange cv. Caipira DAC and Cravo mandarin presented the lowest yields (< 25 kg tree-1). No significant variation was observed for fruit quality characteristics of trees on different rootstocks.
selection; breeding; fruit quality
