Regional Fruit Research Station, Punjab Agricultural University, Abohar 152 116
Studies were carried out with six almond varieties, namely, California Paper Shell, Pethick's Wonder, Hybrid-15, JK Selection-55, JK Selection-77 and JK Selection-167 for their suitability in arid-irragated region of Punjab. Maximum plant survival (92.7%) was noted in California Paper Shell followed by Pethick's Wonder. Both these varieties showed maximum scion/stock ratio of plants. Initiation of flowering was observed on 11th February in California Paper Shell, which came to full bloom on 25/26 February with 15 days flowering duration. Pathick's Wonder showed longest flowering duration of 19 days from 14th February to 5th March but showed the shortest fruit set duration of only 11 days. Mass flowering in all the varieties, except JK Selection-167, overlapped from 14th February to 25th February and are thus recommended for planting together to obtain good fruit set.
