Phenological Responses of Crataegus songarica K Koch. to Climate Variation in the Kashmir Himalayas: Insights from Two Consecutive Years

This study investigated the influence of temperature on the phenology of Hawthorn, Crataegus songarica K Koch. during 2021 and 2022. The phenological events consisting of bud set, bud bursting, leafing, flowering, fruit initiation, fruit fall, leaf tint and leaf fall, were observed during first year the bud set began in the third week of February, followed by bud bursting in the fourth week of March and in first week of April the leaves were fully open. Flowering started in the fourth week of April and continued until the fourth week of May, with the peak in second week of May. Fruit initiation was observed in the fourth week of July, while fruit fall started in the second week of September and lasted until the third week of October. Leaf tint was observed during the third week of September and leaf fall commenced in the fourth week of September, continuing until the first week of November. Investigations revealed that the entire phenophase cycle of Crataegus songarica lasted 9 months and 3 weeks. The observations indicated the early emergence of phenological events by 1 week in 2022 due to the higher temperature as compared to 2021. The entire phenophase cycle of Crataegus songarica in 2022 lasted 9 months and 3 weeks. By comparing these data of 2021 and 2022, can conclude the variations in the phenological patterns of Crataegus songarica and better understand the impact of environmental factors on its life cycle.