Economic Affairs

The trees of peach cv. Shan-e-Punjab were treated with different orchard floor management practices (mulching and herbicidal treatment) in the month of February 2014. In all, there were 14 treatments including mulches viz., black polythene, paddy straw, saw dust, white polythene and herbicides viz., atrazine 50 WP (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 Kg a.i. per hectare), oxyflurofen 23.5 EC (0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 l a.i. per ha) and pendimethalin 30 EC (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 l a.i. per ha) and control which were replicated thrice. The total cost of cultivation per hectare was found to be highest ( 207480.00) in treatments T1 and T2 i.e. black polythene mulch and white polythene mulch, respectively whereas, it was found to be lowest of 185240.00 in the treatment (T14) i.e. control. Among all the treatments, the benefit: cost ratio was found highest with black polythene mulch (1:1.89) followed by atrazine 2.0 kg a.i/ha (1:1.86) and lowest in control (1:1.55). Thus, for improving growth, yield and fruit quality of peach cv Shan-e-Punjab, black polythene mulch and atrazine 2.0 kg a.i/ha are found to be most suitable and economically feasible under the Jammu sub- tropics.