Performance of Midknight Valencia (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) on different rootstocks under Indian sub-tropics

The study was conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Fruit Research Station, Jallowal-Lesriwal (Jalandhar, india) to evaluate the performance of sweet orange cultivar ‘Midknight Valencia’ on three different rootstocks (Rubidoux trifoliate, Rich 16-6 and Swingle citrumelo). Plants on Rubidoux trifoliate (RtF) were the tallest with height of 3.15 m, while Rich 16-6 (R 16-6) contributed to maximum dwarfing effect with plant height of 2.27m. Maximum yield per plant (15.13 kg) was recorded for Midknight Valencia plants budded on Swingle citrumelo while the minimum was in Rubidoux trifoliate (10.60 kg). Fruits from plants budded on Rich 16-6 were the heaviest (184 g). However, all the rootstocks failed to produce any significant effect on fruit yield, weight, and size. Rubidoux trifoliate contributed for the maximum juice level in Midknight Valencia fruits, while Rich 16-6 recorded the highest level of peel and rag weight. Maximum peel thickness was found in fruits from plants budded on Swingle citrumelo. Fruits from plants budded on Rubidoux trifoliate rootstock recorded a maximum tSS level of 9.43%. All three rootstocks produced a non-significant effect on juice acidity