Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012
* Present address: Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kudlu PO, Kasaragod, Kerala 671 124
Fruit set was significantly affected by cross-pollination employing pollen parents. Open-pollination gave superior fruit set compared to hand-selfing. Among the pollen parents, sweet orange and Bhadri. Lemon gave higher fruit set. Fruits obtained with Kagzi × Bhadri Lemon recorded maximum fruit weight, length and volume followed by Kagzi Kalan × Pummelo. There was no seed set in hand-selfed fruits giving clear evidence of parthenocarpic development of seedless fruits. Contrary to this, hybrid fruits recorded a large number of seeds. Rind thickness was affected by pollen of various pollen parents. Juice content was significantly reduced upon cross-pollination. Considering effect of different pollen parents on fruit set and quality parameters of Kagzi Kalan, Bhadri Lemon proved to be a good pollinizer for higher yield of quality lemon fruits. In terms of lower seed content, mandarin was found to be the most efficient pollinizer.
