Physiological Behavior of Native Avocado in Nursery

Abstract

In the State of Guerrero, Mexico, there are several types of native avocados that grow in backyards which die mainly because of adverse environmental conditions and various harmful activities of farmers. This study is one of the pioneers in the area. The aim of this research was to follow the growth in nursery and the physiological behavior of 12 native avocados from the municipality of Ometepec, Guerrero, Mexico, in order to explore their possible use as rootstocks. Thus, 20 fruits per tree of each genotype were harvested, and they were sown on substrate (85% river lama, 5% peat moss and 10% agrolite), at one month of age. A randomized complete block design was used with 12 treatments (each genotype was considered as treatment) and four repetitions. An analysis of variance and Tukey's means tests were performed (P ≤ 0.01 and 0.05) and LSD (P ≤ 0.05). The most vigorous rootstock was OME-7, followed by OME-10. The OME-7 showed higher NO3- and Na+ content; while OME-8, was superior in K+ and Ca++. The length*width of the avocado leaves, multiplied by its conversion factor (0.991), estimated a foliar area very similar to that obtained by the leaf area integrator. It was concluded that the OME-7, OME-3 and OME-10 rootstocks, were the most vigorous and they meet all the characteristics to be used as rootstocks.