Effect of foliar application of micronutrients and pre harvest bagging on growth and yield of custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) cv. GJCA-1

Abstract

The present investigation entitled “effect of foliar application of micronutrients and pre harvest bagging on growth and yield of custard apple (Annona Squamosa L.).” was conducted at Fruit Research Station, Madhadibaug, College of Horticulture, JAU., Junagadh, Gujarat. during the year 2024. Fifteen treatment combinations comprising three level of foliar application of micronutrients at different nodes viz., control (M0), multi-micronutrient grade IV @ 1% (M1), multi-micronutrient grade IV @ 1.5% (M2) and five level of pre harvest bagging viz., control (B0), news paper bag (B1), white paper bag (B2), brown paper bag (B3) and non-woven bag (B4), were allocated in randomized block design with factorial concept in three repetition. The results revealed that growth and yield parameters were significantly influenced by the various level of micronutrients and pre harvest bagging. Multi-micronutrient grade IV @ 1% significantly increase the plant height (49 m), tree canopy spread E-W (0.46 m) and N-S (0.47 m), fruit weight (175.50 g), fruit yield per plant (14.61 kg) and yield per hectare (4.06 t). Among the pre harvest bagging treatments, brown paper bagging (B3) significantly increase the fruit weight (177.34 g), yield per plant (14.27) and yield per hectare (3.96 t/ha). Furthermore, the interaction effect between micronutrients and pre harvest bagging found significant with parameters like; fruit weight (203.67 g), yield per plant (18.13 kg) and yield per hectare (5.03 t/ha) in treatment combination multi-micronutrient grade IV @ 1% + brown paper bagging (B3).