Articles
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STUDIES IN POMEGRANATE UNDER SUB-TROPICS OF INDIA
Article number
890_51
Pages
363 – 369
Language
English
Abstract
To regulate flowering and fruiting in pomegranate during Ambe bahar under Punjab conditions, unopened flower buds were removed manually on and after 7, 15 and 22 April and 15, 22 and 30 April for two years in Ganesh-1 and Kandhari cultivars of pomegranate, respectively.
Control trees were allowed to flower continuously up to the end of the flowering period during both the years.
Trees deblossomed on earlier dates produced a substantially higher number of flower buds/flowers; percent fruit set, fruit weight with uniform fruit size; and the lowest flower buds/flowers drop over the control.
Uninterrupted flowering in control trees for about two months produced the maximum number of fruits in both the cultivars.
Physico-chemical attributes viz., aril juice content, TSS/acid ratio and sugars percent were also considerably improved in trees subjected to various deblossoming treatments.
Fruit drop (%), fruit cracking (%) and incidence of diseases (%) was not affected notably with various deblossoming treatments including the control.
However, the first peak of fruit drop (%) was recorded between the second week of April to the first week of May and the second started from the first week of July onwards.
Maximum fruit cracking was observed between the fourth week of May to the third week of July, which coincided with a rapid fruit development period.
Incidence of black spot disease in both cultivars depended upon climatic conditions like relative humidity, rainfall and temperature.
To get fruits of good size and quality, the flower buds in pomegranate cultivars Ganesh-I and Kandhari should be removed manually from 15 April and 22 April onwards, respectively under north Indian conditions.
Control trees were allowed to flower continuously up to the end of the flowering period during both the years.
Trees deblossomed on earlier dates produced a substantially higher number of flower buds/flowers; percent fruit set, fruit weight with uniform fruit size; and the lowest flower buds/flowers drop over the control.
Uninterrupted flowering in control trees for about two months produced the maximum number of fruits in both the cultivars.
Physico-chemical attributes viz., aril juice content, TSS/acid ratio and sugars percent were also considerably improved in trees subjected to various deblossoming treatments.
Fruit drop (%), fruit cracking (%) and incidence of diseases (%) was not affected notably with various deblossoming treatments including the control.
However, the first peak of fruit drop (%) was recorded between the second week of April to the first week of May and the second started from the first week of July onwards.
Maximum fruit cracking was observed between the fourth week of May to the third week of July, which coincided with a rapid fruit development period.
Incidence of black spot disease in both cultivars depended upon climatic conditions like relative humidity, rainfall and temperature.
To get fruits of good size and quality, the flower buds in pomegranate cultivars Ganesh-I and Kandhari should be removed manually from 15 April and 22 April onwards, respectively under north Indian conditions.
Publication
Authors
N.P. Singh, W.S. Dhillon, P.P.S. Gill
Keywords
crop regulation, deblossoming, pomegranate, quality
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