Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>)
Indian jujube or ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i> Lam.) is a deciduous fruit tree typically cultivated in several semi-arid areas of Asia because of its adaptability to yield-limiting conditions. The present study aimed to assess the effect of four pruning times (i.e., the fourth week of...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| author | Shashi Om Prakash Garhwal Mali Ram Choudhary Laxmi Narayan Bairwa Kishan Lal Kumawat Pradeep Kumar Boris Basile Giandomenico Corrado Youssef Rouphael Jagan Singh Gora |
| author_facet | Shashi Om Prakash Garhwal Mali Ram Choudhary Laxmi Narayan Bairwa Kishan Lal Kumawat Pradeep Kumar Boris Basile Giandomenico Corrado Youssef Rouphael Jagan Singh Gora |
| author_sort | Shashi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Indian jujube or ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i> Lam.) is a deciduous fruit tree typically cultivated in several semi-arid areas of Asia because of its adaptability to yield-limiting conditions. The present study aimed to assess the effect of four pruning times (i.e., the fourth week of March, second week of April, fourth week of April, and second week of May) and four treatments using stress-mitigating plant bio-regulators (thiourea at 500 ppm and 1000 ppm; salicylic acid at 100 ppm and 150 ppm) as a means to improve both fruit yield and quality post-harvest. To this end, a full factorial experiment lasting two growing seasons was carried out under field conditions in the representative semi-arid region of Rajasthan, the state with the largest production in India. We assessed the vegetative growth of the trees, the fruit size and yield, and some quality parameters (soluble content, acidity, ascorbic acid, and total sugars) as well as the main post-harvest traits (fruit weight loss and spoilage). Overall, pruning during the second week of April had the greatest positive influence on most of the variables studied. For instance, it induced the highest vegetative vigor, allowing the maintenance of relatively higher chlorophyll and relative water content in the leaves. The fruit parameters also responded most positively to the second week of April pruning, a treatment that, compared to the others, induced a higher diameter; a higher amount of TSS (19.6 °Brix), ascorbic acid (86.5 mg/100 g), and total sugar (10.4%); and a better post-harvest shelf-life. Among the plant bio-regulators, the application of thiourea at 1000 ppm had the highest positive influence on the growth parameters, yield, quality, and reduction in spoilage post-harvest. The differences between the doses of PBRs were limited. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:51:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b5f27292fee410b8af8977443cb40e52023-11-23T16:34:00ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242022-09-018980910.3390/horticulturae8090809Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>)Shashi0Om Prakash Garhwal1Mali Ram Choudhary2Laxmi Narayan Bairwa3Kishan Lal Kumawat4Pradeep Kumar5Boris Basile6Giandomenico Corrado7Youssef Rouphael8Jagan Singh Gora9Department of Horticulture, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner 303328, IndiaDepartment of Horticulture, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner 303328, IndiaDepartment of Horticulture, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner 303328, IndiaDepartment of Horticulture, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner 303328, IndiaDivision of Crop Production, ICAR- Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, IndiaDivision of Integrated Farming System (Div.-II), ICAR- Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur 342003, IndiaDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDivision of Crop Production, ICAR- Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, IndiaIndian jujube or ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i> Lam.) is a deciduous fruit tree typically cultivated in several semi-arid areas of Asia because of its adaptability to yield-limiting conditions. The present study aimed to assess the effect of four pruning times (i.e., the fourth week of March, second week of April, fourth week of April, and second week of May) and four treatments using stress-mitigating plant bio-regulators (thiourea at 500 ppm and 1000 ppm; salicylic acid at 100 ppm and 150 ppm) as a means to improve both fruit yield and quality post-harvest. To this end, a full factorial experiment lasting two growing seasons was carried out under field conditions in the representative semi-arid region of Rajasthan, the state with the largest production in India. We assessed the vegetative growth of the trees, the fruit size and yield, and some quality parameters (soluble content, acidity, ascorbic acid, and total sugars) as well as the main post-harvest traits (fruit weight loss and spoilage). Overall, pruning during the second week of April had the greatest positive influence on most of the variables studied. For instance, it induced the highest vegetative vigor, allowing the maintenance of relatively higher chlorophyll and relative water content in the leaves. The fruit parameters also responded most positively to the second week of April pruning, a treatment that, compared to the others, induced a higher diameter; a higher amount of TSS (19.6 °Brix), ascorbic acid (86.5 mg/100 g), and total sugar (10.4%); and a better post-harvest shelf-life. Among the plant bio-regulators, the application of thiourea at 1000 ppm had the highest positive influence on the growth parameters, yield, quality, and reduction in spoilage post-harvest. The differences between the doses of PBRs were limited.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/9/809pruningPGRsthioureasalicylic acidfruit qualityyield |
| spellingShingle | Shashi Om Prakash Garhwal Mali Ram Choudhary Laxmi Narayan Bairwa Kishan Lal Kumawat Pradeep Kumar Boris Basile Giandomenico Corrado Youssef Rouphael Jagan Singh Gora Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>) Horticulturae pruning PGRs thiourea salicylic acid fruit quality yield |
| title | Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>) |
| title_full | Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>) |
| title_short | Effects of Time of Pruning and Plant Bio-Regulators on the Growth, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Post-Harvest Losses of Ber (<i>Ziziphus mauritiana</i>) |
| title_sort | effects of time of pruning and plant bio regulators on the growth yield fruit quality and post harvest losses of ber i ziziphus mauritiana i |
| topic | pruning PGRs thiourea salicylic acid fruit quality yield |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/9/809 |
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