Effect of plant growth regulators and chemicals on acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia swingle) cv. phule sharbati

A field experiment was conducted at All India Coordinated Research Project on Fruits, Department of Horticulture, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri during Hasta bahar of 2013 to study the effect of plant growth regulators and chemicals on growth, yield and fruit quality of Hasta bahar acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle). The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with ten treatments, each replicated thrice. The study revealed that, application of GA₃ 50 ppm in June + Cycocel 1500 ppm in September + KNO₃ 2% in October showed better performance in canopy volume, number of flowers per shoot, initial fruit set, fruit retention at harvest, number of fruits per tree, average fruit weight, yield and fruit quality of acid lime. GA3 was effective in minimizing the intensity of flowering; Cycocel was effective for imposing stress for inducing flowering while KNO₃ was effective for sprouting.