SHARMA, C LAARUSHI2020-10-262020-10-262020-10https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810153754ABSTRACT The present investigations entitled “Effect of mulching and pre-emergence herbicides on production of kiwifruit cuttings” were carried out at the experimental farm of Department of Seed Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni, Solan HP during 2019-20. The experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design. Three mulching treatments viz., Black polythene mulch, Grass mulch and Crop residue, four pre-emergence herbicides treatments viz., Oxyfluorfen (1.0 and 0.5 a.i .kg ha-1), Pendimethalin (1.0 and 0.5 a.i. kg ha-1) and Control (hand weeding-once a month) were used as soil treatments for production of kiwifruit cuttings. The hardwood cuttings of kiwifruit were treated with IBA @ 6000 ppm prior to planting. Therefore, in all eight treatments were replicated thrice. Black polythene mulch significantly increased the sprouting (83.67%), shoot length (123.03 cm), shoot diameter (5.29 mm), number of leaves per cutting (20.17), leaf area (86.60 cm2), fresh and dry weight of shoots (24.71 g and 14.47 g), rooting (47.96 %), number of roots per cutting (29.17), and roots (25.23 g and 12.13 g), total biomass (26.59 g), shoot: root ratio (1.19: 1), survival rate (54.47 %) and saleable plants (39.27 %) in hardwood cuttings of kiwifruit. Similarly, minimum number of weeds at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after treatment was observed under black polythene mulch. The dry weight of weeds (0.017 g m-2) after 120 days was recorded minimum with black polythene mulch treatment. The benefit: cost ratio (2.50: 1) was estimated to be the highest with treatment T1 (Black polythene mulch).EnglishThesis