Prevention of preharvest fruit drop in apple- A menace in temperate fruit industry

This study was conducted during the years 2021-22 and 2022-23 on 13 years of Red Delicious, Royal Delicious, and Vance Delicious old apple plants grafted on wild (seedling) rootstock. Plants were treated according to the SKUAST-Kashmir recommended package of practice. Results revealed that maximum preharvest drop in all apple cultivars happened under control. 2,4,5T @ 30 ppm was more effective than NAA @ 10 ppm in reducing preharvest drop percentage irrespective of cultivar. The highest average yield/tree in Red Delicious (157.91kg), Royal Delicious (130.57 kg), and Vance Delicious (161.62kg) was observed in 2,4,5T @ 30ppm treated plants. Preharvest drop in terms of weight was maximum (22.39kg/tree) in Red Delicious, 21.56kg/tree in Royal Delicious, and 18.42 kg/tree in Vance Delicious under control. The highest gross income per ha (Rs 18,32,725) was observed in Vance Delicious treated with 2,4,5T @ 30 ppm followed by Rs 18,01,912/ha under the same treatment in the case of Royal Delicious. Production cost/ha and marketing cost/ha were higher in the case of treated orchards than in control irrespective of apple cultivars. The highest net returns/ha (Rs. 12,20,528) and BC ratio (2.32) were obtained in Royal Delicious sprayed with NAA @ 10 ppm.