- The research was developed in a commercial orchard, in Perdões, southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil, aiming to analyze and compare the profitability of the 'Ponkan' mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) production, submitted to both chemical thinning and conventional cultivation. To estimate technical coefficients of production costs and profitability indicators of culture, data were surveyed from regional producers and based in experimental work, carried out in the orchard, from December, 2006 to July, 2008. Ten-year-old plants grafted on 'Rangpur' lime (Citrus limonia Osbeck),,were used. In the first year, the chemical thinning was performed using Ethephon at the concentration of 600 mg L-1 and at harvest the crop production was estimated, in plants both under chemical thinning and under conventional cultivation. In the second year the alternate bearing and the productivity were evaluated. The chemical thinning practice provided higher profitability, in terms of productivity of 'Ponkan' mandarin than the conventional management without the adoption of the thinning.
Citrus reticulata; Ethephon; yield; management
