Yield and fruit quality traits of rambutan cultivars grafted onto three rootstocks and grown in a Mollisol soil in Puerto Rico

Authors: Goenaga, Ricardo; Marrero Soto, Angel

Submitted to: Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2023
Publication Date: 1/1/2024
Citation: Goenaga, R.J., Marrero Soto, A.R. 2024. Yield and fruit quality traits of rambutan cultivars grafted onto three rootstocks and grown in a Mollisol soil in Puerto Rico. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico. 108(1):1-11. https://doi.org/10.46429/jaupr.v108i1.21409.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46429/jaupr.v108i1.21409

Interpretive Summary: The globalization of the economy, increased ethnic diversity and a greater demand for healthy and more diverse food products have opened a window of opportunity for the commercial production and marketing of tropical fruit, including rambutan. Little is known about the performance using various scion/rootstock combinations in the tropics and subtropics. This study was conducted to evaluate yield performance and fruit quality traits of three cultivars (‘Gula Batu’, ‘Jitlee’, ‘R-162’) grafted onto three rootstocks (‘Binjai’, ‘Gula Batu’, ‘R-134’) in an alkaline Mollisol soil in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico. Overall, scion/rootstock treatments exhibited an increase in fruit number and yield from 2011 to 2015. Cultivar ‘R-162’ grafted onto ‘Gula Batu’, had the highest 5-year mean for number (289,911 fruits) and yield (8,260 kg/ha) of fruit. Regardless of rootstock, ‘R-162’ had higher number of fruit and yield. All cultivars produced more fruit and had higher yield when ‘Gula Batu’ was used as a rootstock. Scion/rootstock treatments did not have a significant effect on individual fruit weight. Cultivar ‘R-162’ grafted onto ‘Gula Batu’ had higher soluble solids concentration but it was not significantly different than the rest of the treatments except for ‘Gula Batu’ grafted onto ‘Binjai’ and ‘Gula Batu’ grafted onto ‘R-134’ which had significantly lower soluble solids concentration. This study provides for the first time useful information to Extension Agents and growers about yield and fruit quality traits of various scion/rootstock combinations and specifically demonstrating cultivar ‘R-162’ being a highly productive cultivar and ‘Gula Batu’ a superior rootstock by performing very well under alkaline soil conditions.

Technical Abstract: The globalization of the economy increased ethnic diversity, and a greater demand for healthy and more diverse food products have opened a window of opportunity for the commercial production and marketing of tropical fruit, including rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum). There is a lack of formal experimentation on rambutan performance using various scion/rootstock combinations. An experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design to evaluate yield performance and fruit quality traits of three cultivars (‘Gula Batu’, ‘Jitlee’, ‘R-162’) grafted onto three rootstocks (‘Binjai’, ‘Gula Batu’, ‘R-134’) in an alkaline Mollisol soil in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico. Overall, scion/rootstock treatments exhibited an increase in fruit number and yield from 2011 to 2015. Cultivar ‘R-162’ grafted onto ‘Gula Batu’, had the highest 5-year mean for number and yield of fruit. Regardless of rootstock, ‘R-162’ had higher number of fruit and yield. All cultivars produced more fruit and had higher yield when ‘Gula Batu’ was used as a rootstock. Scion/rootstock treatments did not have a significant effect on individual fruit weight which averaged 32 g. Cultivar ‘R-162’ grafted onto ‘Gula Batu’ had higher soluble solids concentration but it was not significantly different than the rest of the treatments except for ‘Gula Batu’ grafted onto ‘Binjai’ and ‘Gula Batu’ grafted onto ‘R-134’ which had significantly lower soluble solids concentration. Pulp (aril) weight was higher in fruit of ‘R-162’ grafted onto ‘R-134’. However, there were no significant differences in fruit pulp weight among the rest of the cultivars except, for ‘Gula Batu’ grafted onto ‘R-134’. This study confirms previous work by the author showing ‘R-162’ being a highly productive cultivar and also for the first time that ‘Gula Batu’ is a superior rootstock by performing very well under alkaline soil conditions.