In the early bearing stage of Kinnow, the magnitude of vegetative growth was maximum in spring flush (47.08%) followed by in the rainy season flush (42.07%), whereas, the winter fall flush bore only minor flush of the annual vegetative growth (10.85%). Similarly, the spring flush leaves showed the minimum values of leaf sclerophylly i.e. leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight, specific leaf weight, density of foliar tissue and leaf tissue succulency as compared to rainy and winter fall flushes leaves, implying that spring season growth most serves as a sink to developing fruits. Growth of the Kinnow fruit in phase 1 st which last for one month up to April is primarily due to the increase in peel thickness which contributes about 70% of the fruit radius. In phase 2 nd , growth of the fruit is due to the increase in pulp tissue thickness contributing 80% of the fruit radius, increased fruit fresh weight, moisture content and decreased peel thickness up to September. Major gain in fresh weight of the fruit is from May-October, contributing 80.14% of the total fruit weight. Thereafter, phase 3 rd of maturation and ripening starts with comparatively decreased rate of increase in fruit weight and size, and slightly increased rate of dry weight, peel thickness and reduced moisture percentage. This study will be further helpful in increasing the input efficiency of resources for improving fruit size and reducing fruit drop in Kinnow mandarin.

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The present study was conducted at experimental orchard of Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana), India with a view to optimize pinching time and spacing in African marigold for achieving better growth, flowering and yield. Design of the experiment was factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications. Experiment comprises of two levels of pinching (no pinching & pinching at 28 DAT i.e. Days After Transplanting) and three levels of spacing (40 x

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A field study was undertaken to extrapolate the impact of foliar application of potash and its spray schedule on yield and physical and chemical parameters of sweet orange cv. Jaffa at experimental orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The results revealed that foliar application of KNO₃ at both the doses (2 and 4%) was found significantly or marginally better than K₂SO₄ (1.5 and 3.0%) and control (water spray) in increasing the juice content. Peel content, peel thickness and rag content was found to be influenced significantly due to different treatments on K and its spray schedule. Minimum rag content (38.11%) was recorded with foliar application of KNO₃ at the rate of 4% and maximum with control. Ascorbic acid and acidity were found maximum with two foliar applications of KNO₃ at the rate of 4% in the last week of April and August. Foliar application of KNO₃ at the rate of 4% was found most effective in increasing yield of sweet orange over control and other K treatments. Spray of K in the last week of April, May and August was found superior in increasing yield closely followed by two sprays in the last week of April and August. The findings signify the importance of K spray in enhancing yield and quality of sweet orange under semi-arid north western conditions of India.

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An investigation to evaluate the effect of foliar application of potassium and its spray schedule on yield and yield parameters in sweet orange cv. Jaffa was undertaken at experimental orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the year 2014-15. The results revealed that the foliar application of potassium nitrate at the rate of 2 and 4 % and potassium sulphate at 1.5 and 3.0 % significantly improved average fruit weight, fruit diameter, percentage of medium and large fruits, and fruit yield of sweet orange cv. Jaffa over control (water spray). The trend was vice-versa on the percentage of small fruits. The number of fruits per plant could not differ significantly due to various treatments. Among K sources and doses, foliar application of KNO 3 at 4 % exhibited superiority over other treatments with respect to yield and yield parameters followed by KNO 3 at lower dose (2 %) or K 2 SO 4 at higher dose (3 %). Among various spray schedules, application of three sprays of K in the last week of April, May and August were found superior or at par in improving yield and yield parameters with 2 sprays in the last week of April and August. The fruit yield was recorded the highest (76.90 kg/plant) with a combination of the foliar application of KNO 3 at 4 % and 2 sprays in the last week of April and August which was nonsignificant with KNO 3 with an additional spray in the last week of May. The findings signify the importance of K spray in improving yield and yield parameters of sweet orange under semi-arid climatic conditions of north western India.

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