Production of ‘Ubá’ mango tree submitted to rejuvenation pruning and fertilized with nitrogen

Abstract The rejuvenation pruning or plant prune is a practice used in fruits species such mango tree, whose plants can exceed ten meters heigh, compromising the implementation of practices such as spraying and harvesting. This study aimed to evaluate the resumption of production of adult ‘Ubá’ mango trees, previously pruned and subjected to fertilization with increasing levels of nitrogen over five seasons. The experiment was conducted in Visconde do Rio Branco, MG. Nineteen years old mango trees were pruned and reduced to the primary branches, about 1.5 m above the ground. Excess shoots were removed, remaining five to six branches per tree. In the year in which the plants were pruned, the nitrogen fertilization was initiated with different doses, divided into three equal fractions, between October of one year and February of the following year. Annually were applied per plant, 160 g of P2O5 in the form of simple superphosphate, 350 g of K2O in the form of potassium chloride, according to the results of the soil analysis, and 0, 175, 350, 525 and 700 g of N in the form of urea. Two years after pruning the plants returned to production, and in the first five crops, we quantified the production in kg per plant and the number of fruits per plant. The production of the mango trees was already stable in the fifth crop or seven years after pruning. The dose of nitrogen resulting in the maximum yield was 238.9 g/plant.