Influence of pruning severity and time on yield and fruit quality of ber cv. Umran

Studies were conducted to find out the effect of pruning severity and time on fruit and yield characters of ‘Umran’ ber. Eighteen-year old trees were pruned at fortnightly intervals, i.e. on 25 April, 9 May, 23 May and 6 June with seven pruning levels, i.e. retention of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 buds and no pruning. The per cent fruit set and retention increased with decrease in the pruning severity and recorded significantly higher in the unpruned trees and lower in trees pruned by retaining 2 buds. Both fruit set and retention increased with the delay in pruning upto 9 and 23 May, respectively. Maximum fruit size and weight were recorded in trees pruned between 9 and 23 May by retaining 6 buds. Fruit yield increased significantly with the decrease in pruning severity. It was concluded that ‘Umran’ ber trees pruned on 9 May retaining 6 buds yielded fruits of superior quality.