Effect of stigma excision on the Bio-Chemical characteristics of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) cv. Red Delicious

Abstract

An investigation was carried out at Commercial orchard, Shalimar (Jammu & Kashmir) during 2016-17 to find out the effect of different stigma excision levels (incomplete pollination) on the biochemical characteristics of Apple fruit (Malus × domestica Borkh.) cv. Red Delicious. The six treatments were pinching off 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 styles below the stigma from each of 40 flowers per side. The remaining stigmata were hand-pollinated on the second day following treatment. Flowers were pollinated with Golden Delicious pollens. Only flowers with five stigmata were used and each flower was considered an experimental unit. The results revealed that the maximum Total Soluble Solids (14.55oBrix), acidity (0.32%) and calcium content (2.17mg/100g) were recorded in fruits from flowers with no stigma pinched whereas Total soluble solids/acidity ratio was maximum in fruits from flowers with 4 stigmata excised. Therefore, it may be concluded that that improved seed set (proper pollination) provides a inexpensive and efficient practice to improve the biochemical quality attributes of apple.