Quality and Quantity Improvement of Citrus: Role of Plant Growth Regulators

Citrus is one of the most important fruit tree species in the world, as the fruits are a valuable source of nutrients, vitamins and other antioxidant compounds. The citrus productivity depends on various factors, among these the plant growth regulators holds a prime position. The use of plant growth regulators has become an important component in the field of citriculture because of the wide range of potential roles they play in increasing the productivity of crop per unit area. The plant growth regulating compounds actively regulate the growth and development by regulation of the endogenous processes and there exogenous applications have been exploited for modifying the growth response. Plant growth regulators have been used in citrus fruit production for influencing flowering, fruit set and fruit drop and play a major role in fruit growth and abscission. These regulators have also been used to influence fruit quality factors like peel quality and colour, fruit size, juice quality and to improve total soluble solids in different citrus species. This review may serve as a complete treatise on the possible roles of growth promoting substances on the physiological processes of citrus plant.