Anand SinghABHISHEK PRATAP2023-12-152023-12-152023-07-21Abhishek Pratap {2023} Effect of pre-harvest spray of growth substances on fruit drop, yield and quality of Kinnow Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)., M.Sc (Ag.), DEPARTMENT OF FRUIT SCIENCE COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE BANDA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY BANDA-210 001 (U.P.) INDIAhttps://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810203512Citrus is the world leading fruit crop. Kinnow, which is a most flavoured and aromatic member of Mandarin group, is a hybrid between ‘King’ Mandarin (Citrus nobilis Lour) and ‘Willow Leaf’ Mandarin (Citrus deliciosa Tenora). Heavy fruit dropping is a great factor for low productivity of Kinnow Mandarin. The present study entitled “Effect of preharvest spray of growth substances on fruit drop, yield and quality of Kinnow Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)” was carried out at experimental orchard in the University campus, Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda during 2022-23. Various concentration of four different plant growth substances, Salicylic Acid (SA, 15 ppm), ZnSO4 (0.5 and 0.25 %), K2SO4 (0.25 %) and Ca(NO3)2 (0.25 %) and their combinations were applied foliarly two times (15th October and 15thNovember) to study the impact of different treatments on pre-harvest drop, yield, quality and shelf-life of Kinnow fruit. The results revealed that the pre-harvest application of SA + ZnSO4 + K2SO4 was most effective among all other treatments to control pre-harvest drop and increased the fruit yield with enhanced quality. The physical attributes of the fruit viz. Fruit length and width, fruit weight, volume and juice recovery were also increased while peel thickness, peel content and rag content were decreased with SA + ZnSO4 + K2SO4 application. Fruit firmness was found highest with the application of SA + Ca(NO3)2. The treatments not had any significant effect on the specific gravity and colour of the fruit. Biochemical parameters viz. TSS, TSS: acidity ratio, sugar, ascorbic acid content, antioxidants and total phenols were also increased with the treatment of SA + ZnSO4 + K2SO4, while the titratable acidity was reduced with the same treatment. Pectin content was increased with the application of SA + Ca(NO3)2. The fruits harvested from the trees applied with the treatment SA + Ca(NO3)2 + K2SO4 had higher shelf-life as they showed minimum PLW % and got higher scores in sensory analysis during storage.EnglishThesis