Abstract
Codes and detailed crop-specific descriptions are presented for the growth stages of the mango tree, contributing to the standardization of international testing systems in fruit growing. Based on the general BBCH-scale, the one for mango uses 7 of the 10 principal stages (0-9), thus growth stages for bud, leaf and shoot development, inflorescence emergence, flowering, fruit development and fruit maturity are described. Secondary stages (also from 0 to 9) are numbered related to ordinal or percentage values of growth. The scale also uses mesostages, between the principal and secondary stages, to distinguish the different vegetative flushes and the principal terminal inflorescence emergence from the later axillary one, subsequent to terminal flowering failure. A feature of the system is that homologous stages of different crops are presented by the same codes. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
