The effect of foliar spray of plant growth regulators and nutrients on fruit drop, fruit size and quality was studied in ber cv Sanuar-2 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hoshiarpur, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during 2005-2006. Plants were sprayed with NAA (20, 30 or 40 ppm), KNO3 (0.5, 1.0 or 1.5%) and ZnSO43333&lt;/sub (1.5%)

Bal, J S

Gill, P P S

English

Journal of Horticultural Sciences

Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk)  is a hardy fruittree which can be successfully grown in arid and semi-aridzones of Indian states particularly Haryana, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, where most of other fruitplants fail to grow due to lack of irrigation facilities. Berfruit is very popular among consumers due to its high nutritivevalue and comparatively lower market price. The fruit ofber is considered more nutritive than apple for its higherprotein, beta-carotene and vitamin C contents (Rai andGupta, 1994). In Punjab, the commercial cultivation of beris largely focused on single cultivar ‘Umran’. However, sub-montane region of state having higher relative humidity,Sanaur-2 cultivar is recommended due to its higher toleranceto powdery mildew disease as compared to Umran. Butheavy fruit drop is a major obstacle for expansion of berindustry in this region. The bulk of fruit drop occurs at earlystage of fruit development i.e, during second fortnight ofDecember. Many reasons such as hormonal imbalance,abortion of embryo and inclement weather have beenascribed to drop immature fruits in ber (Singh et al, 1991).Application of NAA and ZnSO4 alone or in combinationsShort communicationJ. Hortl. Sci.Vol. 4 (2): 161-163, 2009Effect of growth regulator and nutrients spray on control of fruit drop,fruit size and quality of ber under sub-montane zone of PunjabP.P.S. Gill and J.S. BalDepartment of HorticulturePunjab Agricultural UniversityLudhiana - 141 004, Punjab, IndiaE-mail: timgill740@rediffmail.comABSTRACTThe effect of foliar spray of plant growth regulators and nutrients on fruit drop, fruit size and quality was studied inber cv Sanuar-2 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hoshiarpur, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during  2005-2006.Plants were sprayed with NAA (20, 30 or 40 ppm), KNO3 (0.5, 1.0 or 1.5%) and ZnSO4 (0.3, 0.4 or 0.5%) during thelast week of October and again superimposed in the last week of November. All the treatments resulted in decreasedfruit drop compared to control. Minimum fruit drop (69.6%) was recorded with application of NAA (30 ppm) whilemaximum was recorded in control. Plants sprayed with KNO3 (1.5%) exhibited maximum fruit size, fruit weightwhile this was minimum in control trees. Palatability rating of fruits was maximum with KNO3 (1.5%) which alsoexhibited maximum fruit size, fruit weight and minimum was observed in control trees besides producing fruits withon attractive colour. Total soluble solids were not affected by  treatments. Maximum vitamin C (104.2 mg/100 g pulp)content was observed in NAA (30 ppm), followed by KNO3 (1.5%) treatment. Results indicated that NAA (30 ppm)spray was better for fruit retention; however, fruit quality in terms of size, colour and palatability rating was betterwith KNO3 (1.5%).Key words: Ber, fruit drop, fruit quality, plant growth regulators, nutrientswere effective in reducing fruit drop in ber cv Umran (Yadavet al, 2004). Similarly, foliar application of KNO3 (1.5 %)alone or in combination with urea at pea size stage increasedfruit size and quality in cv. Umran (Yadav, 2001). Keepingin view of above findings, the present study was undertakento find out the efficacy of foliar sprays of NAA, KNO3 andZnSO4 in checking the fruit drop and improving quality ofber cv. Sanaur.The present investigation was carried out at berorchard of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hoshiarpur, a centre ofPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during 2005-2006,planted at 7.5 x 7.5 meters under square system. Four-years-old plants of uniform vigour of ber cv. Sanaur-2 maintainedunder uniform cultural practices and plant protectionmeasures were selected. Aqueous solution of differentchemicals viz; Naphthalene acetic acid (20, 30 and 40 ppm),KNO3 (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) and ZnSO4 (0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 %)were applied as foliar spray. The different nutrient solutionswere prepared separately by dissolving the required quantityof salts in water. The trees were sprayed in last week of162October and November months. The control trees weresprayed with water. Ten treatments including control werelaid out in completely randomized block design with threereplications. In each replication, four branches were taggedand fruits from these were counted just before the first spray.The fruit drop was estimated at the time of harvesting bycounting the number of fruits retained in labelled branches.Fruits were harvested at optimum maturity. Thirty fruits perreplication were taken at random to determine physico-chemical characteristics. Fruit size (Length x breadth) wasmeasured with the help of Vernier Calipers. Fruit weightwas measured with electronic balance and expressed ingram. The colour of fruits was recorded with ‘RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart’ (Wilson, 1938).Palatability rating in terms of general appearance, taste andflavour were recorded by panel of five judges. Total solublesolids were measured with hand refractometer and thevalues were corrected to 20oC with the help of temperaturecorrection chart. Total acids were determined by titratingthe known weight of finely blended pulp with 0.1N NaOHusing phenolphthalein as an indicator. Vitamin C content wasdetermined by titrating the juice against 2, 6-dichlorphenolindophenol dye solution to a light pink colour which persistedfor 15 seconds.  The results were expressed as mg/100 gof fruit flesh. The data were analysed statistically byrandomized block design (RBD) method using CPCS-1computer software package.A. Fruit drop and physical characteristics of fruitThe data on fruit drop, fruit colour, fruit size andweight are presented in Table 1. All the sprayed treatments,except KNO3 (1.0% and 1.5%) significantly decreasedfruit drop over control. The decrease in fruit drop, however,seemed to vary with different chemicals and theirconcentrations employed. Minimum fruit drop (69.6%) wasrecorded in NAA 30 ppm treatment which was statisticallyon par with NAA 20 pppm, ZnSO4 (0.4%) and ZnSO4(0.5%) treatments. However, the maximum fruit drop of82.7 per cent was observed in control trees. Reduction infruit drops of ber with NAA applications have also beenreported by earlier workers (Bal et al, 1984 and Singh etal, 2001). The effect of ZnSO4 in controlling the fruit dropmight be due to the higher availability of photosynthatesand promotes auxin synthesis necessary for fruit set andgrowth. Application of KNO3 (1.0 and 1.5%) and ZnSO4(0.5%) resulted attractive yellowish green colour (YG 154B) fruit as compared to green coloured (YG 150 B) fruits inrest of the treatments including control.Significantly higher fruit size was registered in NAA(30 ppm), KNO3 (0.5 & 1.0%) and ZnSO4 (0.5%)treatments as compared to control. The maximum fruit sizewas recorded in KNO3 (1.5%) closely followed by ZnSO4(0.5%) treatment. The minimum fruit size was recorded incontrol. Similarly, the maximum fruit weight of 24.0 g wasrecorded in KNO3 (1.5%) and minimum of 20.2 g wasobserved in control. Similar increase in fruit weight withfoliar application of KNO3 was noted by Ebraheim et al(1993) in ‘Balady’ mandarins. Increase in fruit size withZNSO4 was also reported by Samant et al (2008). Auxinsare known to play fundamental role in determining fruitgrowth (Arteca, 1996). These results are in agreement withfindings of Singh et al (2001), who observed higher fruitsize and weight with ZnSO4, K2SO4 and NAA treatments.Lal et al (2001) also observed increase in fruit weight of‘Umran’ ber with application of potassium in combinationwith nitrogen.Table 1. Effect of plant growth regulators and nutrients on fruit drop, fruit colour, fruit size and fruit weight of ber cv. Sanaur-2Treatment Fruit drop (%) Fruit colour Fruit length (cm) Fruit breadth (cm) Fruit weight (g)NAA 20 ppm 70.5 (57.1) *YG-150 B 4.45 2.96 21.2NAA 30 ppm 69.6 (56.5)   YG-150 B 4.62 3.02 22.9NAA 40 ppm 76.9 (61.3)   YG-150 B 4.50 2.98 21.8KNO3 0.5% 77.5 (61.7)   YG-150 B 4.57 3.00 22.4KNO3 1.0% 80.6 (63.8)   YG-154 B 4.60 3.05 22.1KNO3 1.5% 81.7 ( 64.7)   YG-154 B 4.71 3.09 24.0ZnSO4 0.3% 74.0 (59.3)   YG-154 B 4.43 2.93 21.4ZnSO4 0.4% 71.8 (57.9)   YG-150 B 4.43 2.94 21.8ZnSO4 0.5% 72.6 (58.4)   YG-154 B 4.66 3.03 23.8Control 82.7 (65.4)   YG-150 B 4.38 2.90 20.2CD at P=0.05         (1.92) -- 0.13 0.10 2.06Figures in parenthesis indicate arc sine transformed values* YG = Yellow greenJ. Hortl. Sci.Vol. 4 (2): 161-163, 2009Gill and  Bal163B. Quality of fruitData on quality parameters of fruit are presentedin Table 2. The palatability rating of fruits was increased byvarious foliar sprays as compared to control. Significantlyhigher palatability rating was observed in NAA 40 ppm,KNO3 (1.5%), ZnSO4 (0.4%) and ZnSO4 (0.5%) treatmentsas compared to control. The highest palatability rating (16.5)was recorded with KNO3 (1.5%) treatment and the fruitswere marked ‘Excellent’. The minimum palatable rating wasobserved in control.TSS content was not influenced by the spraytreatments. All the treatments significantly decreased acidcontent of fruits as compared to control except, NAA (20ppm) and ZnSO4 (0.4 & 0.5%) treatments, where it wasstatistically at par. TSS / acid ratio was unaffected bydifferent treatments.Vitamin C content of fruit ranged from 84.7 mg/100g in control to 104.2 mg/100 g in NAA 30 ppm treatment.Significantly higher vitamin C content was recorded in NAA(30 & 40 ppm) and KNO3 (1.5%) treatments as comparedto control. Similar results were also reported by Singh et al(2002).REFERENCESArteca, R. 1996. Plant Growth Substances: Principlesand Applications. pp  57., Chapman & Hall, NewYorkBal, J.S., Singh, S.N., Randhawa, J.S. and Jawandha, J.S.1984. Effect of growth regulators on fruit drop, sizeand quality of ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk).Indian J. Hort., 41:182-185Ebrahiem, T.A., Ahmed, F.F. and Assy, K.G. 1993. Behavior(MS Received 6 April 2009, Revised 26 October 2009)Table 2.  Effect of plant growth regulators and nutrients on fruit quality characteristics ber cv. Sanaur-2Treatment Palatability rating  (max. 20) TSS (%) Acidity (%) TSS/acid ratio Vitamin C (mg/100g)NAA 20 ppm 14.6 15.4 0.40 38.9 93.3NAA 30 ppm 14.7 16.2 0.38 43.2 104.2NAA 40 ppm 15.9 17.2 0.34 50.5 101.6KNO3 0.5% 15.2 16.0 0.35 46.0 88.3KNO3 1.0% 15.4 15.8 0.32 49.5 93.3KNO3 1.5% 16.5 16.9 0.35 48.6 102.1ZnSO4 0.3% 14.8 15.9 0.35 45.8 99.5ZnSO4 0.4% 15.8 15.6 0.41 37.7 98.2ZnSO4 0.5% 15.7 16.2 0.42 38.9 93.6Control 14.6 15.4 0.45 34.0 84.7CD at P=0.05 0.9 NS 0.06 NS 10.44of Balady mandarin tree (C. reticulata) grown insandy loam soil to different forms and concentrationsof potassium foliar sprays. J. Agric. Sci., 24:215-227Lal, G., Dhaka, R.S. Agarwal, V.K. Goyal, S.K. and Pareek,C.S. 2001. A note physico-   chemical attributes ofUmran ber as affected by application of nitrogen andpotassium. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 30:204-205Rai, M. and Gupta, P.N. 1994. Genetic diversity in ber.Indian J. Hort., 39:42-47Samant D., Mishra, N.K. and Lal,  R.L. 2008. Effect ofmicronutrient sprays on fruit yield and quality duringstorage in ber cv. Umran under ambient conditions.Indian J. Hort., 65:399-404Singh, R., Godara, N.R., Singh, R. and Dahiya, S.S. 2001.Response of foliar applicatoin of growth regulatorsand nutrients in ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk)Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 30:161-164 Singh, R., Godara, N.R. and Ahlawat, V.P. 2002. Qualitativeattributes as affected by foliar sprays of nutrients andgrowth regulators in ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.)cv. Umran. Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 31:23-25Singh, Z., Dhillon, B.S. and Sandhu, A.S. 1991. Relationship ofembryo degeneration with fruit drop and its pattern indifferent cultivars of ber. Indian J. Hort., 48:277-281Wilson, R.R. 1938. Horticultural colour charts. WilsonColours Ltd in collaboration with the RoyalHorticultural Society and British Council.Yadav, B., Rana, G.S. and Bhatia, S.K. 2004. Response ofNaphthalene acetic acid, urea and Zinc sulphate onfruit drop in ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk).Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 33:181-182Yadav, P.K. 2001. Note on foliar application of urea andpotassium sulphate on yield and quality of ber. Curr.Agri., 25:129-130Effect of growth regulators and nutrient spray on fruiting in berJ. Hortl. Sci.Vol. 4 (2): 161-163, 2009

Effect of Growth Regulator and Nutrients Spray on Control of Fruit Drop, Fruit Size and Quality of Ber under Sub-Montane Zone of Punjab

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Effect of Growth Regulator and Nutrients Spray on Control of Fruit Drop, Fruit Size and Quality of Ber under Sub-Montane Zone of Punjab

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