Effect of nitrogen fertigation on yield and fruit quality of peach (Prunus persica L.) under low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh

An experiment was conducted during two consecutive years of 2011 and 2012 to standardize the rate of nitrogen fertigation in peach (Prunus persica L.) under low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh. Four N fertigation treatments through drip and one recommended dose of N (RDN) as soil application (control) were applied to peach plants. The plants receiving higher doses of nitrogen through fertigation (full RDN and 2/3^rd RDN) were recorded significantly higher vegetative growth, fruit weight, fruit diameter and fruit yield as compared to lower rates of fertigation and soil application. Among the cultivars, ‘Early Grande’ produced fruits with maximum weight (72.40 g) and length (46.76 mm), although the total fruit yield was highest (25.22 kg plant⁻¹) in ‘Partap’ owing to the higher number of fruits plant⁻¹. The fertilizer use efficiency was highest under treatment T₄ (1/3^rd RDN through drip), whereas it was lowest in plants receiving full N through soil application in all the peach cultivars.