Influence of nodal pruning on vegetative and reproductive attributes of Sardar guava

Investigations on “Influence of nodal pruning on vegetative and reproductive attributes of Sardar guava” were carried out in the orchard of Amarjit Singh at village Bargari in district Faridkot of South-Western Punjab. Pruning intensities consisted of removal of shoot tip up to 0, 4th, 6th and 8th node. There were five replications and the data were analyzed using Randomized Block Design. As per university recommendation, farmers are advised to opt for light pruning in guava, i.e., removal of shoot tip up to 10 cm in first fortnight of March. However, guava orchardists are of the view that pruning levels should be in terms of how many nodes to prune as it is easier for them to guide the pruning labor in terms of number of nodes to be pruned rather than in centimeters. To ascertain the above facts, On Farm Trial was conducted to find out the effect of nodal pruning on vegetative and reproductive attributes of Sardar guava. The results of investigation revealed that with the increase in severity of pruning, there was significant increase in shoot length. Severe pruning minimized the span of flowering as severe pruning level of 8-node pruning intensity recorded the shortest duration of flowering during both the rainy and winter season crops of both the years. Although, there was increment in fruit set with the enhanced severity of pruning, the results were non significant. 6-node pruning intensity recorded significantly higher fruit yield per tree during both the cropping seasons of both the years. There was significant increase in fruit weight with the increase in severity of pruning during the rainy and winter season crops of both the years. TSS/Acid ratio was not altered much by pruning intensity. On the other, there was a significant increase in ascorbic acid content of the fruits with the enhanced severity of pruning. On the whole, pruning to 6 nodes gave the highest fruit yield and accounted for production of fruits of good quality.