Fruit setting: In apple often yield is adversely affected due to less fruit setting. The
spray of Miraculan @ 0.75ml/l of water or Biozyme/ Protozyme@ 2ml/l water at
bud swell and petal fall stages improves the fruit setting in apple.
Fruit thinning: It is practiced to avoid over cropping and to improve fruit quality. Hand
thinning of flower cluster is done to retain 2-3 fruit lets per cluster.
Spraying of 10ppm NAA at petal fall stage or at 15 mm fruit length is effective
in fruit thinning.
Fruit drop: The three waves of fruit drops have been observed in apple. The first
wave comes during early stage just after fruit set due to water stress, hail
storms, poor pollination and improper fertilization; Second wave appears in
June when fruit competes for nutrients and water under moisture stress
condition in June and third waves, which causes economic loss, comes at pre
harvest stage due to physiological reasons or any disorder. The application of
10ppm NAA (Planofix 1ml/4.5l water) one week before expected fruit drop wave
controls the fruit drop effectively.
Maturity indices, Harvesting and yield: The apple becomes ready to harvest 120-140
days after full bloom depending upon varieties. In India apple is harvested
from July to November depending upon location and cultivar but best quality of
apples is harvested around October at higher altitude of Jammu & Kashmir
and Himanchal Pradesh. The T.S.S. of fruits varies from 12-14 % while fruit firmness
varies from 8.2 to 8.7kg at fruit maturity. In India average productivity of
apple is 10 tons /ha that can be increased up to 20-25 tones/ha
