Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake, Bangalore 560 089
A field trial was conducted on six-year old phalsa seedlings combining previous and current pruning levels of 0, 50 and 100 cm from ground level to study the effect of alternate pruning on yield and quality. Under previous pruning levels, plants pruned to 100 cm from ground level recorded maximum pruned wood and under current pruning, maximum pruned wood was obtained from plants pruned to ground level. Number of fruiting nodes were more in plants pruned to 100 cm from ground level under previous pruning levels. Length of shoots were maximum in plants pruned to ground level under current pruning during all the three years of experimentation. Pruning plants to 100 cm from ground under previous pruning level did not influence the yield significantly. The TSS increased significantly with increased severity of pruning. Plants pruned to ground level gave sweeter fruits as compared to other pruning levels. Acidity of fruits was not influenced by any of the pruning treatments.
