Effect of preharvest sprays of plant growth regulators on Coorg mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco) and their storage studies with and without wax coating.

Mandarin orange trees bearing the monsoon crop· were sprayed with CLPA and 2,4,5-T and NOA
8 weeks before harvest. Fruits treated with 2,4,5-T (25 and 50 ppm) and CLPA (25 ppm) had 34, 35 and
28 % more weight, respectively, than the control and also had higher percentage of juice and reduced
pomace content with a corresponding increase in peel moisture. When stored for 35 days at 42-45°F and
85-90% R.H., the treated fruits suffered less physiological loss in weight, a greater percentage of them
being in marketable condition as compared with the untreated ones. The vitamin C loss also was
much less during storage. The treatments had little effect on respiratory activity, although there was a
peak on the fourteenth day of storage, possibly a respiratory climacteric.