Effect of foliar application of 2,4-D, urea and zinc sulphate on fruit drop, yield and fruit quality of Kinnow mandarin

The present investigation was carried out at Horticultural Regional Research Station, Dhaulakuan, Sirmour, of Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan during the year 2011–2012 to evaluate the “Effect of foliar application of 2,4-D, urea and zinc sulphate on fruit drop, yield and fruit quality of Kinnow mandarin.” The experiment was laid-down in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with eight treatments and three replications. The study comprises of one experiment in which Kinnow trees under investigation were subjected to treatments of 1% urea, 0.4% zinc sulphate, 20 ppm 2,4-D (2,4-Dichloro phenoxy acetic acid synthetic auxin), urea 1%+zinc sulphate 0.4%, urea 1%+2,4-D 20 ppm, zinc sulphate 0.4%+2,4-D 20 ppm and urea 1%+zinc sulphate 0.4%+2,4-D-20 ppm. The results revealed that the foliar application of 1% urea+0.4% zinc sulphate+2,4-D-20 ppm (part per million) resulted in highest in various Kinnow tree growth character (plant height 35.33 cm, tree girth 2.81 cm, shoot extension growth 20.43 cm and tree volume 31.42 m³), fruit retention 17.47%, yield (509 Number of fruit plant⁻¹ and 81.31 kg plant⁻¹) and fruit quality (fruit weight 159.83 gm, fruit breadth 7.03 cm, fruit length 6.12 cm, TSS (total soluble solids) 15.40°brix, and juice content 51.90%), however lowest fruit drop (81.31%) in comparison to other combination and control treatment.