Effect of time of pruning and hydrogen cyanamide application on harvesting time and fruit quality in grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

An experiment was conducted to ascertain the effect of pruning time and hydrogen cyanamide application on bud burst, maturity and fruit quality of Flame Seedless grapes. The plants were pruned at six different intervals and foliar application of hydrogen cyanamide @ 2% was given to the vines immediately after each pruning interval. These were compared with the vines kept untreated at each pruning interval. The study revealed that bud burst was 12–23 days earlier in vines treated with hydrogen cyanamide as compared to untreated vines. Amongst the hydrogen cyanamide treated vines, bud burst was the earliest when pruning was done in last week of December. In case of untreated vines, bud burst occurred during the month of March. The application of hydrogen cyanamide immediately after pruning advanced the time of flowering and ripening by 5–9 days and 4–5 days, respectively, as compared to untreated vines. The pruning time of first week of January registered more yield (31.4 kg/vine), while the overall yield (28.6 and 28.8 kg/vine) and bunch weight (378.1 and 378.4 g) were at par among the for treated and untreated vines, respectively. The fruit quality in terms of higher soluble solids content (18.8°Brix), total sugar, (15.62%) and lower acidity (0.5%) was also significantly achieved in treated vines. The study provides useful insight into improving the fruit quality and enhancing the marketability in grapes through advancement of budburst and ripening with the application of hydrogen cyanamide.