Influence of Bio-stimulants on the Yield Attributes, Peel and Pulp Color of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv Mallika under Central Dry Zone of Karnataka

Abstract

The mango (Mangifera indica L.) is considered the ‘King of fruits’ and found to be economically important due to its excellent fruit quality, despite having good fruit quality characteristics, it is associated with production constraints such as low initial fruit set, heavy fruit drops, undersized fruit and improper fruit color development. On the other hand, bio-stimulants play an important role in improving the productivity and quality of fruits. In the present study, four biostimulants viz., jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, brassinosteroids and triacontanol, were sprayed at intervals of 70 and 90 days after anthesis at two different concentrations with four replications. Among the treatments, triacontanol @ 10 ppm (T9) showed a significant difference in yield parameters and recorded maximum average fruit weight (571.98 g), fruit length (17.53 cm), fruit diameter (92.38 cm), fruit volume (723.75 cc), pulp weight (435.91 g), pulp percentage (76.24), number of fruits (75.25), yield per tree (41.31 kg) in comparison to control. However, salicylic acid @ 150 ppm (T5) showed the highest colorimeter coordinates L*, a*, b*, C* and hº for both pulp and peel color. The study concludes the use of phytohormones enhances the fruit development and quality parameters of mango cv Mallika under the central dry zone of Karnataka.