Relationship between orchard soil management practices, fruit drop and economic aspects in Kinnow mandarin

Abstract

The study comprised of eight orchard floor management practices viz., rotavation, disc harrowing and chemical method of weed control singly and their combinations on Kinnow mandarin. Determinations were made to compare effectiveness of the management practices in terms of fruit set, fruit drop, fruit harvest, fruit weight, yield, expenditure incurred and economic aspects. The data indicated that all the growth parameters responded significantly to management practices.The results indicated superiority of mowing over conventional orchard floor management practices giving higher yield and economic returns per unit area. The maximum yield (112.39 kg/ plant) was found in T8 (mowing of weeds) with 6.64 per cent fruit set and 612 fruits per plant. The cost of intercultural operations in this treatment came out to be Rs 1,200/- and net income Rs. 1,59,884/-.