Abstract
Mangosteen is a tropical fruit with great economic potential. The major impediment to the development of a mangosteen industry is the long prehearing stage that seedlings require to produce fruits.There is little information regarding optimum nursery practices to enhance growth and development of mangosteen seedlings. Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of various shade and fertilizer treatments on growth of young mangosteen plants. Each experiment lasted 22 months from transplanting to harvest. Seedlings were grown under 0,30, 50, 70 and 90% artificial shade and received 3, 6, and 9 g per pot of a 15-4.8-10.8% (N-P-K) commercial fertilizer mixture at three, eight and 15 months after planting. Plants grown under 50% shade and supplied with 9 g of fertilizer accumulated significantly more dry matter, had thicker stems, grew taller and developed a larger leaf area. Plants grown under full sunlight grew little or died.