Long-term performance of grapefruit cultivars on different rootstocks

The present study was conducted to standardize the rootstock(s) for grapefruit cvs. Marsh Seedless andRedblush, suitable to grow commercially in northern India, budded on eight rootstocks. The sour orange andRLC-4 proved to be the vigorous rootstocks for Marsh Seedless (220.32 m3) and Redblush (175.65 m3) cultivars,respectively. The trees of Marsh Seedless were dwarf (51.23 – 52.27m3) on Attani-1 and Attani-2 rootstocks,while statistically similar growth of Redblush (46.52 m3) was observed on Jatti khatti rootstock. Jatti khatti andBillikhichli proved to be the good nutrient accumulators (P, K, and Mg) for Redblush; and Jatti Khati and RLC-4for Marsh Seedless (N, P, and Zn). Billikhichli and sour orange proved to be the sodium excluder rootstocks forboth varieties. RLC-4 and Rough lemon proved to be the most productive rootstocks for Redblush and MarshSeedless, respectively. It was followed by Troyer citrange for both the cultivars. These rootstocks also yieldedthe juiciest fruits in their respective cultivars. Attani-1 and Troyer citrange produced fruits with low acid contentin the tested cultivars of grapefruit.