Effect of Pruning Severity on Bud Sprouting, Flowering and Current Year'S Bearing in Thompson Seedless Grape

Five buds pruning treatment produced maximum sprouted buds (60.7 per cent) Maximum flowered buds (18.1 percent) and noted maximum inflorescences (11.6) on current year's shoots were in 8-buds per cane pruning severity. Increase in the number of buds on a cane (9 to 12 bud treatments), per cent buds sprouted and fruitful buds decreased, where 24 equal number of canes were kept in each pruning severity. In another trial, results showed that maximum buds sprouted (60.7 per cent) was in 5 buds/cane pruning treatment which was found higher than all the other severities tried. However, 7-buds and 8-buds per cane pruning treatments produced maximum fruitful buds (14.6 and 14.3 per cent) and maximum number of inflorescences (8.3 and 8–9) on current year's shoots in these treatments. Fifth node on the current year's shoots bore the maximum number of inflorescences in both the trials. It may be concluded that for Thompson Seedless grapes, 7 or 8-buds/cane pruning with 24-canes/vine seems to be optimum for better fruiting under arid-irrigated regions of Punjab.