Studies on Rejuvenation of Old, Unproductive 'Alphonso' Mango Trees in Orchards

A field trial on pruning was conducted from 2004 to 2009 to induce rejuvenation of twenty six year old, unproductive 'Alphonso' mango trees, at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. In the study, three treatments imposed comprised of two pruning treatments, namely 30cm and 45cm pruning of third order branches from the point of origin, and a control (no pruning). Pruning increased the mean cumulative fruit yield for four years, which was almost double that of control, although the two pruning treatments were on par. Maximum mean cumulative fruit yield (86.3kg/plant) was obtained with 30cm pruning, whereas control treatment recorded a fruit yield of 47.2kg/plant. Fruit quality attributes such as average fruit-weight, TSS, acidity and shelf-life were not affected by the two pruning treatments, for rejuvenation of 'Alphonso' mango

Effect of Dose and Time of Paclobutrazol Application on the Flowering, Fruit Yield and Quality of Mango Cv. Alphonso

A field trial was conducted for eight years at Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bengaluru to find out the effect of dose and time of application of paclobutrazol (PBZ) on flowering, fruit yield and quality of 'Alphonso' mango. The percentages of flowering, vegetative and dormant shoots were affected by paclobutrazol application. Different dose and time of application of paclobutrazol increased the percentage of flowering shoots significantly and most pronounced effect was with treatment D1T2 (3ml/m canopy PBZ applied 90 days before bud break) which recorded 89.9% flowering shoots as compared to 73.8% in control treatment. Regarding fruit yield, maximum mean fruit yield of 22.0kg/plant was recorded with treatment D1T2 (3ml/m canopy PBZ applied 90 days before bud break) and least was with control (13.1kg/plant) which accounts for fruit yield increase of 67.9%. No particular trend was observed in respect of shoot length in different treatments. However in general, paclobutrazol application reduced the shoot length compared to control. With respect of fruit quality attributes, acidity and TSS were found to be non-significant among different treatments during different years. Average fruit weight was found to be significant during different years and paclobutrazol application reduced the average fruit size compared to control. Cost benefit ratio was maximum of 1:2.52 was with treatment 3ml/m canopy PBZ applied 90 days before bud break and least cost benefit ratio of 1:1.06 was with control

Effect of Pruning and Chemicals on Flowering and Fruit Yield in Mango Cv. Alphonso

A field trial was conducted from 2005 to 2009 on pruning and spray of various chemicals to study their effects on flowering and fruit yield in 'Alphonso' mango, at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. Seven treatments were imposed, with pruning of fruited shoots as a common treatment, followed by chemical sprays and a control. Over the five years, flowering parameters (% vegetative, dormant or flowering shoots) were found to be non-significant among different treatments. Treatments increased fruit yield compared to control. The best treatment was T3 (Pruning+1% K2HPO4+1% KNO3 spray) which recorded mean fruit yield of 63.9 kg/plant, compared to a fruit yield of 33.0 k/ plant in control

Cumulative and Residual Effects of Paclobutrazol on Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality of 'Alphonso' Mango

A field experiment was conducted during 1996 to 2002 at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, to study the cumulative and residual effects of paclobutrazol (PBZ) application on shoot vigour, flowering and fruit yield of seventeen years old 'Alphonso' mango trees. Foliar sprays of the chemical at 500, 1000 or 2000 ppm or soil drench at 5 or 10 g a. i. per tree was given during September for three consecutive years and the residual effects were observed for three more subsequent years. Application of PBZ as soil drench was more effective than its foliar spray and doubled fruit yield during the six years. Chemical parameters of fruits such as TSS and acidity were not affected by the treatments but average weight of a fruit was less in the case of PBZ treatments. Residual influence of this chemical, when applied as soil drench, persisted in the three years following the discontinuation of application for three consecutive years, indicating the scope for skipping the application of PBZ or tapering down its dose after three years of its continuous application. From the results of this study, application of paclobutrazol at 5 g a.i. per tree as soil drench for three consecutive years and then its discontinuation for the subsequent three years appears to be most appropriate for 'Alphonso' mango trees in the age group of about 15 to 25 years

An alternate statistical method for dealing outliers in perennial crop experiment

A statistical method based on Robust ANOVA to handle outliers induced high coefficient of variation (CV) in pooled (2011-2018) analysis of long-term Mango cv. Totapuri rootstock trail was suggested. Based on the results, it was concluded that the rootstock treatment T3: Olour (average yield over the period 2011 to 2018 as 57.21 kg/tree) as the best. Precision gained as estimated by reduction in CV (%) was in the range of 11.01 % to 78.9 %. SAS IML codes were built-in for analysis. Hence, this study calls for employing robust ANOVA approach in testing the significance of evaluated treatments in a designed perennial crop experiment with high CV that would have reduced the sensitivity of testing the significance of treatment differences otherwise

Advancing fruiting season in Annona cv. Arka Sahan through pruning

Annona cultivar ‘Arka Sahan’, an inter-specific hybrid of Annona atemoya × A. squamosacomes to harvest during August-September under mild tropical climate, which coincides with monsoon rains resulting in poor fruit quality and high susceptibility to anthracnose and fruit fly. An attempt was made to advance the fruiting in this hybrid through pruning during 2016- 17 and 2017-18. The effect of three pruning levels (25, 50 and 75% of previous season’s growth) at five different times (60, 75, 90, 105 and 120 days after final harvest of previous crop) on flowering and fruiting were compared. Early sprouting, flowering and fruit harvest were recorded in trees pruned to 75% of the past season’s growth in both the years. Earliest fruits were harvested 271 (3rd week of June) and 268 (2nd week of June) days after pruning in trees pruned during first week of October in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively (P<0.05).Bigger fruits with lesser seeds per 100 g of pulp (P<0.05) were harvested from trees pruned to 75% and 25% levels in the first and second year, respectively, irrespective of pruning time. Tree canopy following pruning at 75%level recorded higher light interception and photosynthetic rate (P<0.05). Pruning time and levels significantly influenced the biochemical constituents of leaf and shoot. The fruiting in cultivar ‘Arka Sahan’ could be thus advanced by 8-9 weeks to June from the normal season of August-September with comparable or better fruit quality by pruning 75% of the last season’s growth during October

Effect of Organic Nutrition Practices on Papaya (cv. Surya) Fruit Yield, Quality and Soil Health

A field experiment was conducted during 2005-07 at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, on papaya cv. Surya with six organic treatments along with recommended dose of fertilizers and no manure/fertilizer application. Results indicated that crop growth and fruit yield were higher in inorganic fertilizer treatment (55 t ha1) compared to organic treatments (26.9 to 38 t ha-1). There was no significant variation in average fruit weight and TSS, but shelf life of the fruit was significantly higher in organic treatments (6.2 to 7.9 days) as compared to inorganic fertilizer treatment (5.1days). Among the treatments, application of 7 kg urban compost plant-1 or 10 kg FYM plant-1 was found to be ideal for improving soil health in terms of microbial population, and biochemical reaction compared to other treatments

Effect of in situ Rainwater Harvesting and Mulching on Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality in Mango Var. Arka Neelachal Kesri in Eastern India

A field study was conducted at Central Horticultural Experiment Station (ICAR-IIHR), Bhubaneswar, India, during 2007-2013 in a new mango orchard of the variety 'Arka Neelachal Kesri' at 5m x 5m spacing, to conserve rain-water and to enhance soil moisture availability during dry periods for augmenting plant growth and fruit production. Among the four in situ rain-water harvesting techniques (cup-and-plate, half-moon, full-moon, and trench) evaluated in combination with three types of mulch (no mulch, inorganic mulch, and organic mulch), the cup-and-plate system resulted in maximum annual increment in vegetative growth and fruit yield (4.67kg/plant), while, organic (paddy straw) and inorganic (black polythene, 100μ thickness) mulches improved vegetative growth, fruit yield and TSS in fruit significantly over no mulch

Effect of Organic Practices on Fruit Quality in Papaya Cv. Surya

A field experiment was conducted during 2009-10 at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore using papaya cv. 'Surya'. Ten organic nutrient treatments along with recommended dose of fertilizers and control (no manure/fertilizer) were used totaling twelve treatment combinations of FYM, biofertilizers and vermicompost. Fruit quality parameters such as total carotenoids, lycopene, TSS, average fruit weight and ascorbic acid content were analyzed. Among the treatments, application of 50% recommended dose of fertilizers in the form of farm yard manure (FYM) applied as Azospirillum+Phosphate solubilizing bacteria+Mycorrhiza+Vermicompost showed high level of carotenoids, lycopene and low levels of ascorbic acid. TSS and average fruit weight were not affected by various organic nutrient treatments

Influence of Organic Practices on Growth and Fruit Yield in Papaya Cv. Surya

A field trial on organic practices in papaya cv. Surya was conducted during 2009-2011 with 10 nutrient combinations involving farm yard manure, biofertilizers and VAM along with 100% recommended dose of fertilizers and no manure/ fertilizer treatment. Vegetative parameters were recorded periodically. At 18 months after planting, plant height, plant girth and number of leaves were found to be significant. Results indicated that, crop growth was better with organic treatments compared to no manure/fertilizer treatment. Fruit yield and quality parameters were also recorded. Fruit yield and average fruit weight were found to be significant. Maximum fruit yield of 32kg/plant (80 t/ ha) was recorded under 75% recommended dose of fertilizer applied as farm yard manure+vermicompost, which was significantly superior to that in 100% recommended dose of fertilizer for the 18-month cropping period