Effect of different chemicals in reducing fruit cracking and improving yield and quality in Pomegranate cv. Pearl

Authors

  • Muhammad Ikhlaq Horticultural Research Station, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Azhar Bashir Horticultural Research Station, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
  • Ammara Noreen Horticultural Research Station, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
  • Kashif Shabir Horticultural Research Station, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Kashif Raza Date Palm Research Sub-Station, Jhang, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Sultan Ali Bazmi Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha, Pakistan
  • Naeem Khalid Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
  • Abdul Manan Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan*Corresponding author: Ammara Noreen(ammaranoreen91@gmail.com)AbstractPomegranate is a drought tolerant fruit crop and is well adopted to temperate to tropical climate. Fruit cracking is a major disorder in pomegranate which causes significant monetary losses. In the present study, effect of anti-biotic (T1: Streptomycin @ 1 g/L), bio-stimulant (T2: Isabion @ 1 ml/L) and fungicide Nativo (T3: Tebuconazole + Trifloxystrobin@ 1 g/L) alone or in combination of the three i.e., Streptomycin + Isabion (T4), Streptomycin + Nativo (T5), Isabion + Nativo (T6) and taking untreated plants as control (T7) were applied to minimize fruit cracking disorder in Pomegranate fruit cv. Pearl. Application of treatments started two monthsafter fruit setting in May and repeated twice during June and July every year. Spray of these chemicals influenced productivity and fruit quality parameters of Pomegranate cv. Pearl. From mean of two years data, maximum yield per plant (51.5 kg), number of fruits per plant (243), fruit weight (252 g), number of arils per fruit (504), fruit size (55 cm2), total soluble solids (14.5 oBrix), juice percentage (40.6%) as well as minimum number of cracked fruit (13.8), fruit cracking percentage (5.7%) and fruit acidity(0.32%) were recorded when pomegranate plants were sprayed with Streptomycin plus Nativo (each @ 1 g/L) at monthly interval from May to July. Hence, combined application of Streptomycin and Nativo could be recommended for reducing fruit cracking and improving yield and fruit quality of Pomegranate cv. Pearl in the semi-arid climate of South Punjab, Pakistan. © 2021 Department of Agricultural Sciences, AIOUKeywords:Isabion, Nativo, Productivity, Pomegranate (Punica granatum), Streptomycin, Splitting To cite this article:Ikhlaq, M., Bashir, M. A., Noreen, A., Shabir, K., Raza, M. K., Bazmi, M. S. A., Khalid, N., & Manan, A. (2021). Effect of different chemicals in reducing fruit cracking and improving yield and quality in Pomegranate cv. Pearl. Journal of Pure and Applied Agriculture, 6(3), 76-85.Introduction Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is classified in the family Punicaceae. It is one of the most delicious and nutritious fruits (Gunnaiah et al., 2021). Interest in pomegranate cultivation has increased (Liu et al., 2021) after recent reports of its high antioxidant content in fruit and juice, making it super fruit (Sau et al., 2021; Tozzi et al., 2021). Although pomegranate is extensively cultivated in many Mediterranean countries, but bulk of pomegranate cultivation occurs under arid and semi-arid areas of Iran facing water scarcity (Ghanbarpour et al., 2018). Pomegranate bush is moderately drought tolerant, however, under semi-arid conditions 10-35% fruit are hit by fruit cracking (Khattab et al., 2012). The cracked fruit are further attacked by many fungi or influenced by environmental, physiological and genetic factors (Galindo et al., 2014; Thomidis, 2014). World major producer and exporter of pomegranate is Iran where quality production is from arid and semi-arid climates (Sheikh & Manjula, 2012). Pakistan produced 36.84 thousand tons pomegranate fruit over an area of 7.270 thousand hectares during 2017-18. Balochistan contributes a major share in production with 26.450 thousand tons from an area of 5.813 thousand hectares. Punjab contributes 8.339 thousand tons in productionfrom an area of 1.259 thousand hectares, while KPK shares 2.051 thousand tons in production from an area of 0.198 thousand hectares. Area and production of pomegranate is decreasing from previous years due to some problems, categorically one of them is fruit cracking.Fruit cracking is an alarming issue in a number of fruits and the extent of loss fluctuates under the influence of many factors. Fruit cracking is considered mainly a physiological disorder of pomegranate, which not only lowers quality of fruit but also returns substantial monetary losses to fruit growers in South Punjab (Pakistan). Cracked fruit are prone to chemical injury, infection by fungi, rapid moisture loss, shriveling and low quality. Many biotic, genetic, physiological, environmental and cultural factors are involved to cause fruit cracking (Butani et al., 2019). Cracked fruits under sunburn increase about 30-60% more fruit unmarketable (Melgarejo et al., 2004; Bakeer, 2016). Soil depleted in macro and micronutrients (boron, magnesium, potassium, zinc and calcium etc.) along with laggard field management contribute in fruit cracking (Khalil &Aly, 2013). Nutrient deficiencies

Keywords:

Isabion, Nativo, Productivity, Pomegranate (Punica granatum), Streptomycin, Splitting

Abstract

Pomegranate is a drought tolerant fruit crop and is well adopted to temperate to tropical climate. Fruit cracking is a major
disorder in pomegranate which causes significant monetary losses. In the present study, effect of anti-biotic (T1: Streptomycin
@ 1 g/L), bio-stimulant (T2: Isabion @ 1 ml/L) and fungicide Nativo (T3: Tebuconazole + Trifloxystrobin @ 1 g/L) alone or in
combination of the three i.e., Streptomycin + Isabion (T4), Streptomycin + Nativo (T5), Isabion + Nativo (T6) and taking
untreated plants as control (T7) were applied to minimize fruit cracking disorder in Pomegranate fruit cv. Pearl. Application of
treatments started two months after fruit setting in May and repeated twice during June and July every year. Spray of these
chemicals influenced productivity and fruit quality parameters of Pomegranate cv. Pearl. From mean of two years data,
maximum yield per plant (51.5 kg), number of fruits per plant (243), fruit weight (252 g), number of arils per fruit (504), fruit
size (55 cm2
), total soluble solids (14.5 oBrix), juice percentage (40.6%) as well as minimum number of cracked fruit (13.8),
fruit cracking percentage (5.7%) and fruit acidity (0.32%) were recorded when pomegranate plants were sprayed with
Streptomycin plus Nativo (each @ 1 g/L) at monthly interval from May to July. Hence, combined application of Streptomycin
and Nativo could be recommended for reducing fruit cracking and improving yield and fruit quality of Pomegranate cv. Pearl
in the semi-arid climate of South Punjab, Pakistan. © 2021 Department of Agricultural Sciences, AIOU

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Published

2023-05-29

How to Cite

Ikhlaq, M., Bashir, M. A., Noreen, A., Shabir, K., Raza, M. K., Bazmi, M. S. A., Khalid, N., & Manan, A. (2023). Effect of different chemicals in reducing fruit cracking and improving yield and quality in Pomegranate cv. Pearl. Journal of Pure and Applied Agriculture, 6(3). Retrieved from https://ojs.aiou.edu.pk/index.php/jpaa/article/view/1054

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 3 (2021): Journal of Pure and Applied Agriculture

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Articles

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