Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38

Evaluation of rootstocks for `Clementine'

mandarin in Cyprus
Androula Georgiou*
Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 22016, Nicosia 1516, Cyprus
Accepted 21 May 2001

Abstract

Tree size, yield, yield ef®ciency, fruit quality and leaf nutrient levels of `Clementine' mandarin
(Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.) on 12 rootstocks were evaluated under Cyprus conditions.
Cumulative yield over 11 years of production was highest on rough lemon (C. jambhiri Lush.),
followed by that on Volkamer lemon (C. volkameriana Ten. and Pasq.), Yuma and Carrizo citranges
(C. sinensis cv. Washington navel  Poncirus trifolia …L:† Raf.), sour orange (C. aurantium L.),
Rangpur lime (C. limonia Obs.), Palestine sweet lime (C. limettioides Tan.) and Estes rough lemon,
although there were no signi®cant differences among these rootstocks. Cumulative yields on Troyer
citrange and Swingle citrumelo …C: paradisi Macf:  P: trifoliata† were next in order, followed by
those on C. taiwanica Tan. Shim. and C. amblycarpa Oshse (Nasnaran). The largest trees were on
sour orange and the smallest on Estes rough lemon and Palestine sweet lime. Yield ef®ciency was
the highest on Estes rough lemon and lowest on C. amblycarpa. However, no rootstock induced
signi®cantly lower yield ef®ciency than that induced by sour orange. Rootstock affected fruit size
and weight, rind thickness, juice content, brix and brix:acid ratio, but not total acids. Leaf analysis
of 12 elements showed signi®cant differences among rootstocks in the concentration of only Mg,
Mn, Cu and B. At present in Cyprus, sour orange is the most commonly used rootstock for the
commercial cultivation of `Clementine' mandarin but it is highly susceptible to tristeza. The results
showed that Carrizo citrange and Volkamer lemon were very promising as alternative rootstocks.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Yield; Canopy volume; Fruit quality

1. Introduction

Citrus is the most important tree fruit crops in the world with an annual production of
approximately 102 million tonnes. Oranges are the most extensively produced citrus fruit

*
Tel.: ‡357-2-403213; fax: ‡357-2-316770.
E-mail address: georgiou@arinet.ari.gov.cy (A. Georgiou).

0304-4238/02/$ ± see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 0 4 - 4 2 3 8 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 3 1 1 - 9
30 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38

followed by mandarins with 65 and 17% of the total world production, respectively. Many
of the world's important mandarin producing countries are near the Mediterranean region
such as Spain, Israel, Morocco, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. In this region, in recent years, the
production of mandarins has increased by 50%. `Clementine' mandarin has been one of the
most popular and fastest expanding mandarin varieties during the past three decades (FAO,
1998). Citrus is one of the most important crops in Cyprus. The area under citrus in 1995
was 7200 ha, representing about 18% of the total irrigated land. Citrus production in 1995
reached 17 600 t of which 31% were oranges, 42% grapefruit, 16% lemons and 11%
mandarins. More than 50% of the citrus production is exported to UK, other European
Union countries and eastern Europe.
In Cyprus, all citrus cultivars are budded on sour orange, which is highly susceptible
to tristeza (Wallace, 1956a,b; Salibe, 1973). The problem of tristeza in Cyprus
(Papasolomontos and Economides, 1968; Kyriakou and Polycarpou, 1989) has necessi-
tated a research programme to replace sour orange with rootstocks tolerant to tristeza
for almost all the commercial cultivars (Economides, 1976a,b, 1977; Economides and
Gregoriou, 1993; Gregoriou and Economides, 1993, 1994; Georgiou and Gregoriou,
1999; Georgiou, 1999). The performance of `Clementine' mandarin on 12 rootstocks as
measured by growth, yield, yield ef®ciency, fruit quality and the levels of 12 elements in
the leaves are presented in this paper.

2. Materials and methods

Rootstocks were propagated from seed. One-year-old seedlings were T-budded and the
trees were, subsequently, ®eld planted at the Citrus Experimental Station, Akhelia
(latitude, 358N; longitude, 328E) in March 1984. Seeds of rootstocks were imported from
Willits and Newcomb, Arvin, CA, except those of sour orange and Palestine sweet lime,
which were obtained locally from selected healthy trees. Budwood of `Clementine', free
from all known pathogens, was imported from Willits and Newcomb in 1979. The
experimental design was a randomized complete block design, with one tree representing
one plot and six replications. Tree spacing was 6:6 m  4:2 m. The soil was a vertisol clay
underlain at about 0.9 m by a carbonate layer (60% CaCO3). The surface soil layer
contained 1.5% organic matter and 20% CaCO3 and had a pH value of 8.0 and an ECe value
of 1.5 dS m 1 throughout the pro®le.
The trees were irrigated by minisprinklers between April and November every 58 days.
The irrigation requirements were based on a class A evaporation pan. Dam water was used
for irrigation with a pH of 7.6 and an electrical conductivity of 0.7 dS m 1 and containing
(meq l 1): Ca-3.3, Mg-2.3, Na-2.2, K-0.1, SO4-2.2, CO3-0.2, Cl-1.4 and HCO3-4.2. N, P
and K were applied in early spring and the amounts increased progressively each year to
reach 214 kg N ha 1 as ammonium sulphate, 82 kg P ha 1 as triple superphosphate, and
170 kg K ha 1 as potassium sulphate. The grove was cultivated, pruned, and sprayed with
insecticides and fungicides, according to local practices.
In January 1997, 14 years after grafting, height and canopy diameter and trunk
circumference, 15 cm above the bud union, were measured. Canopy volume was calculated
using the equation for one-half of a prolate spheroid (Castle and Phillips, 1980) and trunk
 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38 31

circumference was converted into trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA). Yield ef®ciency was
estimated as the ratio of cumulative yield to canopy volume. Scion and stock circumference
were measured in December 1996 just above and below the bud union and their ratio was
determined. In September 1996, 30 leaves from nonfruiting twigs were collected from each
tree and analysed for N, P, K, Mg, Na, Ca, Mn, Zn, Cu, Fe and Cl by the following methods:
micro-Kjeldahl digestion for N, P, K, Na and colorimetric analysis of N and P with
Chemlab Continuous Flow Analyzer; K and Na were analysed on the ¯ame photometer.
After ashing, samples were analysed by atomic absorption for Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn.
Chlorides were determined potentiometrically and boron colorimetrically with carmine
(Hatcher and Wilcox, 1950).
Fruit was harvested and weighed at the beginning of each year and 10 fruits per tree were
randomly collected, were analysed for quality from 1988 to 1997. Fruits were weighed and
fruit diameter and rind thickness at the equator were measured. Juice was extracted with a
motor-driven hand reamer (Santos, No. 11) and brix was measured with a hydrometer at
20 8C; total acids (TAs) were determined (as citric acid equivalent) by titrating with NaOH
(Anonymous, 1946). Data were analysed using SAS procedures (SAS, 1989). Analysis of
variance was used to examine rootstock effects on yield and fruit quality characteristics.
Means were separated by Duncan's new multiple range test.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Tree size

Rootstock had a signi®cant effect on TCSA and on canopy height, width and volume
(Table 1). Trees on sour orange had the highest value of canopy volume which was
signi®cantly different from those of trees on the remaining rootstocks. According to other
studies (Continella et al., 1988; Recupero-Reforgiato and Russo, 1988), Volkamer lemon
induced the highest value of canopy volume of `Clementine' trees, whereas Troyer
citrange, Carrizo citrange and C. amblycarpa induced similar values to that of sour
orange. Estes rough lemon and Palestine sweet lime induced the lowest values of tree
volume, although they were not signi®cantly different from those induced by C. ambly-
carpa, C. taiwanica and Rangpur. Canopy volume is usually considered to be highly
correlated with TCSA (Westwood and Roberts, 1970). However, in this trial the correla-
tion between canopy volume and TCSA, although signi®cant, was small …r ˆ 0:26;
P < 0:001†. These results are not in fully agreement with those reported for almost the
same rootstocks with `Nova' mandarin as a scion (Georgiou, 1999).

3.2. Scion:stock ratio

The ratio of the circumference of the scion to that of the rootstock is a strong indicator of
equality in growth rate of scion and rootstock (Roose et al., 1989). Yuma citrange, Swingle
citrumelo and Troyer citrange and to a lesser extent Palestine sweet lime tended to grow
more rapidly than the scion (Table 1). Trees on other rootstocks had smoother bud unions.
The correlation coef®cient between scion:stock ratio and tree volume was low and not
32 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38

Table 1
Effect of rootstock on tree size and scion:stock ratio of `Clementine' mandarin treesa

Rootstock TCSA Canopy Canopy Canopy Scion:stock

(cm2) height (m) diameter (m) volume (m3) ratiob

Sour orange 246 a 4.70 a 4.85 a 58 a 0.81 ab

Palestine sweet lime 193 abc 3.79 c 4.09 cde 34 d 0.73 bc
Rough lemon 228 ab 4.54 ab 4.41 abcd 46 b 0.83 ab
Estes rough lemon 184 bc 3.81 c 4.06 de 33 d 0.81 ab
Rangpur lime 212 abc 4.14 bc 4.41 abcd 43 bcd 0.79 ab
Troyer citrange 159 c 4.24 abc 4.46 abcd 45 bc 0.64 cd
Carrizo citrange 207 abc 4.36 ab 4.54 abc 47 b 0.75 b
Yuma citrange 215 abc 4.50 ab 4.41 abcd 46 b 0.61 d
Swingle citrumelo 193 abc 4.52 ab 4.34 bcd 45 bc 0.63 cd
Volkamer lemon 247 a 4.27 abc 4.58 ab 47 b 0.83 ab
C. taiwanica 181 bc 4.53 ab 4.17 bcde 42 bcd 0.81 ab
C. amblycarpa 217 ab 4.32 ab 3.85 e 35 cd 0.89 a
cv (%) 11 9 8 19 12
a
Means in the same column followed by different letters are significantly different …P ˆ 0:05† using
Duncan's new multiple range test.
b
Ratio of scion trunk circumference to rootstock trunk circumference.

signi®cant …r ˆ 0:13; P < 0:1†. Yield ef®ciency was also not correlated with scion:stock
ratio …r ˆ 0:11; P < 0:1†.

3.3. Yield

The cumulative yields of `Clementine' mandarin over the 11 years from 1987 to 1997
indicate a difference in productivity between the highest and the lowest yielding rootstock
of 167% (Table 2). Trees on rough lemon and Rangpur lime had the highest cumulative
yields which were not signi®cantly different from those of trees on Volkamer lemon,
Carrizo and Yuma citranges, sour orange, Palestine sweet lime and Estes rough lemon.
Cumulative yields of trees on Troyer citrange and Swingle citrumelo were next in order,
followed by those of trees on C. taiwanica and C. amblycarpa. In contrast to this study,
Volkamer lemon has been reported to, signi®cantly, increase cumulative yield of `Clem-
entine' compared with sour orange, up to 45% (Tribulato et al., 1979; Continella et al.,
1988; Akgul and Tuzcu, 1993). In general, ranking of rootstocks by cumulative yield in this
trial was similar to that with `Nova' mandarin as scion (Georgiou, 1999). However, in the
latter, Palestine sweet lime induced the highest cumulative yields and Rangpur lime
declined by six places. All rootstocks exhibited a strong alternate bearing index (ABI); the
highest induced by Volkamer lemon and the lowest by Estes rough lemon. However,
compared with sour orange no rootstock exhibited signi®cantly higher ABI.

3.4. Yield efficiency

Yield ef®ciency is crucial in order for smaller trees to equal or surpass the production per
hectare of vigorous trees planted at the same spacing. The highest yield ef®ciency was
 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38 33

Table 2
Effect of rootstock on yield, yield efficiency (cumulative yield/tree volume) and ABI of `Clementine' mandarin
treesa

Rootstock Yield (kg/tree) Cumulative Yield efficiency

(1987±1997) (kg m 3)
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Sour orange 193 ab 199 a 227 a 50 c 71 def 1162 ab 20.21 cd 36.8 abc
Palestine sweet lime 170 abc 160 a 179 abcd 134 ab 109 bcd 1146 ab 35.0 ab 39.7 abc
Rough lemon 165 abc 157 a 222 ab 152 a 123 bc 1333 a 28.72 abc 31.3 bc
Estes rough lemon 172 abc 169 a 148 abcd 104 abc 87 cdef 1140 ab 36.19 a 28.0 c
Rangpur lime 162 abc 165 a 111 d 157 a 93 cde 1153 ab 28.89 abc 35.1 abc
Troyer citrange 130 c 175 a 139 cd 131 ab 129 bc 1030 bc 23.75 c 36.9 abc
Carrizo citrange 148 abc 156 a 180 abcd 155 a 151 ab 1188 ab 25.34 c 33.4 abc
Yuma citrange 174 abc 146 a 182 abcd 128 ab 190 a 1193 ab 26.12 bc 38.6 abc
Swingle citrumelo 150 abc 156 a 141 bcd 90 abc 83 cdef 1016 bc 23.35 c 33.2 abc
Volkamer lemon 209 a 129 a 195 abc 68 bc 107 bcd 1216 ab 26.38 bc 45.0 a
C. taiwanica 139 bc 161 a 164 abcd 50 c 51 ef 823 c 19.83 cd 37.4 abc
C. amblycarpa 114 c 144 a 188 abcd 45 c 39 f 499 d 12.87 d 42.5 ab
cv (%) 27 33 33 49 35 20 28 78
a
For explanation see footnote of Table 1. ABI was calculated by dividing the difference between two
successive crops by the sum of two successive crops  100%.

observed with Estes rough lemon and Palestine sweet lime, whereas all other rootstocks
gave yield ef®ciency similar to that of sour orange. According to other studies (Recupero-
Reforgiato and Russo, 1988), Carrizo and Troyer citranges gave signi®cantly higher values
of yield ef®ciency than sour orange. Trees on Estes rough lemon and Palestine sweet lime
were also among the smallest (Table 2). Higher yield ef®ciencies were also reported for
trees reduced in size by rootstock (Castle and Phillips, 1980; Roose et al., 1989) and scion
(Roose and Maxwell, 1988).

3.5. Fruit quality

Rootstock signi®cantly affected six fruit quality factors (Table 3). Compared with sour
orange, only Palestine sweet lime and Volkamer lemon signi®cantly increased fruit weight,
whereas no rootstock induced lighter fruit. Volkamer lemon induced the largest fruit
diameter, whereas all other rootstocks induced fruit size similar to that of sour orange.
Differences in rind thickness although signi®cant were small. Trees on most rootstocks
produced fruit with juice content similar to that of fruits produced by trees on sour orange.
However, Swingle citrumelo signi®cantly increased the juice content and Volkamer lemon
and Palestine sweet lime signi®cantly decreased it. Sour orange induced the highest brix
value which did not differ signi®cantly from those induced by citranges, Swingle citrumelo
and C. amblycarpa. However, it was signi®cantly higher from those induced by Palestine
sweet lime, rough lemon types, Rangpur lime, Volkamer lemon and C. taiwanica.
Although differences in acid content were not signi®cant, fruit from trees on Troyer
citrange and Volkamer lemon had the highest and lowest acid content, respectively. Sour
orange induced fruit with the highest and Palestine sweet lime with the lowest brix:acid
34 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38

Table 3
Effect of rootstock on `Clementine' mandarin quality (average 1987±1997)a

Rootstock Fruit Fruit diameter Rind thickness Juice Brix TA Brix:TA

weight (g) (cm) (mm) content (%) (%) (%) ratio

Sour orange 83.8 cd 5.8 bc 2.9 c 49.2 bc 11.8 a 0.9 a 13.2 a

Palestine sweet lime 89.6 a 5.9 ab 3.4 a 43.7 e 10.7 cd 0.9 a 12.1 d
Rough lemon 86.4 abcd 5.9 abc 3.4 a 47.7 bc 10.5 d 0.9 a 12.4 cd
Estes rough lemon 87.6 abc 5.9 ab 3.4 a 47.1 cd 10.6 d 0.7 a 12.4 cd
Rangpur lime 87.8 abc 5.9 ab 3.3 a 47.4 bcd 10.6 d 0.9 a 12.4 cd
Troyer citrange 86.7 abcd 5.9 abc 3.3 a 49.3 b 11.4 ab 1.2 a 12.7 abc
Carrizo citrange 86.5 abcd 5.9 abc 3.3 a 48.5 bc 11.8 a 0.9 a 13.0 ab
Yuma citrange 82.7 d 5.8 abc 3.1 ab 48.9 bc 11.7 a 0.9 a 13.1 ab
Swingle citrumelo 84.6 bcd 5.8 abc 3.0 bc 51.3 a 11.8 a 0.9 a 12.8 abc
Volkamer lemon 88.7 ab 5.9 a 3.4 a 45.5 de 10.6 cd 0.8 a 12.5 bcd
C. taiwanica 84.6 bcd 5.8 c 3.2 ab 47.1 cd 11.0 bc 0.9 a 12.9 abc
C. amblycarpa 86.5 abcd 5.9 abc 3.0 bc 48.3 bc 11.4 ab 0.9 a 12.7 abc
cv (%) 10 4 16 8 7 60 8
a
For explanation, see footnote of Table 1.

ratio. The magnitude of differences observed in the brix:acid ratio may in¯uence
the earliness of harvest and the quality of fruit harvested late. Although most of the
above results are in agreement with those obtained elsewhere (Continella et al., 1988;
Recupero-Reforgiato and Russo, 1988; Akgul and Tuzcu, 1993), according to Recupero-
Reforgiato and Russo (1988) C. taiwanica induces light fruits and fruits with low acid
content.

3.6. Tree health

Two trees on C. taiwanica and one on Rangpur lime died of undiagnosed causes. Two
trees on each of Rangpur lime, Swingle citrumelo, Troyer and Yuma citranges showed a
chlorotic appearance during 1995±1996, but all except one tree on Rangpur lime which
declined further due to phytophthora infestation have since recovered.

3.7. Leaf nutrient levels

Rootstock signi®cantly affected the levels of only four elements; differences in leaf
concentration of N, P, K, Ca, Zn, Fe and Cl were not signi®cant (Table 4). The N levels of
`Clementine' leaves were `de®cient' (Embleton et al., 1973) on all rootstocks, except of
those on rough lemon and Carrizo citrange, which were in the low range. These results
con®rm those reported for various mandarin type scions (Smith, 1975; Wutscher and Shull,
1976; Georgiou, 1999). The low levels of N may re¯ect the quantity and type of fertilizers
applied. Levels of P were in the optimum, whereas those of K in the high range. N and K,
the two elements reportedly having the greatest effect on tree growth (Smith et al., 1970),
were not signi®cantly correlated with either TCSA or tree volume. Leaf levels of Zn were
in the low and those of Mg and Mn in the optimum range on most rootstocks. In Cyprus, Zn
Table 4
Effect of rootstock on leaf composition of `Clementine' mandarina

A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38

Rootstock N (%) P (%) K (%) Mg (%) Na (%) Ca (%) Mn (ppm) Zn (ppm) Cu (ppm) Fe (ppm) B (ppm) Cl (ppm)

Sour orange 1.88 a 0.118 a 1.78 a 0.30 abcd 0.12 a 5.97 a 20.3 b 30.0 a 13.8 a 114 a 125 b 387 a
Palestine sweet lime 2.13 a 0.110 a 1.60 a 0.21 d 0.14 a 5.28 a 37.5 a 20.3 a 11.8 abc 147 a 179 a 640 a
Rough lemon 2.29 a 0.128 a 1.64 a 0.25 cd 0.12 a 4.95 a 26.3 b 26.3 a 11.5 abc 126 a 121 b 427 a
Estes rough lemon 2.07 a 0.120 a 1.44 a 0.30 abcd 0.12 a 5.22 a 24.0 b 18.3 a 11.8 abc 128 a 123 b 447 a
Rangpur lime 1.92 a 0.133 a 2.03 a 0.29 bcd 0.12 a 5.49 a 25.3 b 22.5 a 12.8 ab 127 a 128 b 497 a
Troyer citrange 2.05 a 0.128 a 1.58 a 0.36 abc 0.12 a 5.35 a 20.8 b 16.5 a 15.0 a 139 a 121 b 567 a
Carrizo citrange 2.17 a 0.127 a 1.56 a 0.39 ab 0.13 a 5.54 a 27.5 b 19.0 a 12.8 ab 134 a 146 ab 437 a
Yuma citrange 1.90 a 0.125 a 1.85 a 0.32 abcd 0.11 a 5.48 a 22.8 b 17.0 a 9.5 bc 125 a 137 b 427 a
Swingle citrumelo 1.84 a 0.120 a 1.78 a 0.41 a 0.15 a 5.12 a 26.0 b 19.5 a 15.5 a 116 a 131 b 515 a
Volkamer lemon 2.08 a 0.123 a 1.55 a 0.28 bcd 0.12 a 4.92 a 24.8 b 19.3 a 14.0 a 139 a 130 b 445 a
C. taiwanica 1.82 a 0.128 a 1.86 a 0.31 abcd 0.10 a 5.74 a 21.5 b 18.8 a 7.8 c 141 a 153 ab 312 a
C. amblycarpa 2.03 a 0.123 a 1.59 a 0.23 cd 0.14 a 5.27 a 24.8 b 21.0 a 14.8 a 113 a 123 b 535 a
cv (%) 11.11 10.03 17.11 24.13 20.11 11.16 20.33 39.22 20.15 19.24 16.90 37.37
a
For explanation, see footnote of Table 1.

35
36 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38

de®ciencies are common because of the high pH. It seems that foliar Zn sprays cannot be
avoided with the selection of rootstock.
The well-known K/Mg antagonism (Embleton et al., 1973) is strongly expressed by
Palestine sweet lime, Rangpur lime, C. amblycarpa and rough lemon and to a lesser extent
by C. taiwanica, sour orange, Yuma citrange and Volkamer lemon. On all rootstocks levels
of Na, Ca and Cu were in the normal range.
Selection of rootstock is an important means of avoiding Cl and B toxicities, and Fe
de®ciency in adverse soil conditions (Embleton et al., 1973; Taylor and Dimsey, 1993). In
this experiment, B was strongly in¯uenced by rootstock but not Fe and Cl. Levels of B were
in the high and those of Fe and Cl in the normal range. Despite the fact that the soil in this
experiment had a relatively high lime content (20%) and a high pH (8.0), the trees did not
exhibit a serious problem of chlorosis, probably because of the adequate Fe and Mg leaf
levels (Mikhail and El-Zeftawi, 1979).
It is obvious that rootstock in¯uences the nutritional status of `Clementine' trees.
However, other parameters such as edaphoclimatic conditions and cultural practices can
in¯uence the nutritional effects of rootstocks (Sharples and Hilgeman, 1972).

3.8. Promising rootstocks

From the preliminary results, Carrizo citrange and Volkamer lemon, both tolerant to
tristeza, appeared to be the most promising. Both rootstocks yielded as well as sour orange
in terms of both cumulative yield and yield ef®ciency, and signi®cantly reduced tree
volume, suggesting that they may also be suitable for denser planting.
Fruit quality on Carrizo citrange was excellent and equal to that on sour orange. Carrizo
citrange has also been reported to be a valid substitute of sour orange for `Clementine' in
other Mediterranean countries as well as in other parts of the world (Jesus et al., 1988;
Recupero-Reforgiato and Russo, 1988; Roose and Maxwell, 1988). Trees on Volkamer
lemon produced the largest and the heaviest fruit, but with juice content, brix value and
brix:TA ratio signi®cantly lower than those from trees on sour orange. However, the
differences in these organoleptic characteristics, although signi®cant, are still small and are
not expected to affect the market value of the fruit especially considering the fact that
Volkamer lemon did not reduce the acid content of the fruit, and most `Clementine' trees in
Cyprus are treated with GA and 2,4-D in order to achieve late harvesting, later than the end
of January.
This experimental work took place in an area where the soil contained 20% CaCO3.
However, since most citrus-producing areas in Cyprus are highly calcareous, Volkamer
lemon is preferable in such areas because of its high calcium tolerance (Wutscher, 1979;
Roose, 1990; Davies and Albrigo, 1994).
Rough lemon, Estes rough lemon, Palestine sweet lime and Rangpur lime are not
considered so promising, mainly because of their sensitivity to diseases (Whiteside and
Knorr, 1978; Wutscher, 1979; Roose, 1990; Timmer et al., 1991; Davies and Albrigo,
1994). C. taiwanica and C. amblycarpa were the least productive rootstocks reducing the
cumulative yield 29 and 57%, respectively, compared with sour orange. The other two
citranges evaluated, Troyer and Yuma, although they yielded as well as Carrizo and their
yield ef®ciency and fruit quality were also as good, exhibited a very low scion:stock ratio
 A. Georgiou / Scientia Horticulturae 93 (2002) 29±38 37

which may be an indication of future bud-union problems. Swingle citrumelo showed a

very low scion:stock ratio and was ranked 10th in cumulative yield.
In conclusion, the results of this experiment show that tree size, yield, yield ef®ciency,
fruit quality and leaf nutrient levels of `Clementine' mandarin can be controlled by the
proper selection of rootstock, and that Volkamer lemon and Carrizo citrange appeared to be
the most promising in replacing the tristeza-susceptible sour orange in Cyprus. However,
this trial is young and conclusions may be altered as disease problems and incompatibility
often become more evident as trees age. The results of this work could be applicable to
`Clementine' cultivated in other countries with similar edaphoclimatic conditions, espe-
cially those near the Mediterranean region.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Mr. C.V. Economides for running the experiment until 1987,
Mr. C. Gregoriou for supervising it from 1987 to 1992, Dr. A. Mavrogenis for statistical
analysis and Mr. N. Karaolis, Mr. G. Kallis, Mr. Ch. Kittis and Mrs. A. Argyridou for
technical assistance.

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