Production and quality of ‘Tommy Atkins’ mango with the application of humic substance-based biostimulants

Abstract

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of applying biostimulants based on stabilized humic substances and organic carbon during the fruiting phenological stage on the yield and fruit quality of ‘Tommy Atkins’ mango grown in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The experiments were carried out at Fazenda Surubim, located in Petrolina, Pernambuco, through two distinct trials conducted simultaneously, using fertigation for the application of two biostimulants. The experimental design was a randomized block in a 2 × 5 factorial scheme, consisting of two production cycles (2021 and 2022) and five doses of the products: Sagersolo® - BIOEST1 (0.0, 7.0, 14.0, 21.0, and 28.0 L ha-1), and Fulvumin® - BIOEST2 (0.0, 10.0, 20.0, 30.0, and 40.0 L ha-1), with four replications. Yield components and physicochemical quality attributes of the fruits were evaluated. Estimated doses ranging from 21.0 to 22.2 L ha-1 of BIOEST1 and from 28.5 to 33.7 L ha-1 of BIOEST2 resulted in increases of 10% and 7% in the number of fruits per plant, 5% and 8% in fruit weight, and 15% and 14% in yield, respectively. For both biostimulants, there was a reduction in titratable acidity and an increase in the soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio, showing linear responses as a function of the applied doses during the fruiting stage. The application of both products influenced the relationship between fruit weight and the number of fruits per plant harvested in both production cycles, as well as the physicochemical composition of ‘Tommy Atkins’ mango fruits grown in the Brazilian semi-arid region.