Improvement in Fruit Set, Retention, Weight and Yield of Apple Cv. Royal Delicious Through Foliar Application of Plant Growth Regulators

This investigation was carried out during 2012 and 2013 seasons on 15 years old Royal Delicious apple trees grafted on seedling rootstock grown in a private orchard at Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh to study the effect of different plant growth regulators on fruit set, fruit retention, fruit drop, fruit weight and yield. The data revealed that foliar application of Sitofex (CPPU) at 10 mm fruit size resulted in higher fruit set, fruit retention and lower fruit drop percentages, and also produced maximum fruit weight and fruit yield in comparison to other treatments under study. Based on this study, apple growers of the chamba district are advised to spray their apple orchards with Sitofex (CPPU) at 10 mm fruit size for producing maximum yield and improving fruit quality, especially fruit weight.