Response of plant spacing and pruning intensity on yield contributing characteristics of guava cv. Pant Prabhat

The present study was conducted to evaluate effect of pruning on yield characteristics in guava. The treatments were consisted of two plant spacing (i.e. 2.0 x 1.0 m and 2.0 x 2.0 m) and three pruning intensities i.e., one fourth, half and three fourth shoot pruning with un-pruned treated as control. The emergence of new shoots and flower buds per plant were maximum at wider spacing (2.0 x 2.0 m) for winter season crop. Three fourth shoot pruning proved significantly superior over other pruning treatments for emergence of new shoots and number of flower buds per plant for winter season crop. The treatment consisted of 2.0 x 2.0 m plant spacing and three fourth shoot pruning was found superior in this regard, significantly higher fruit set (68.42%) was recorded with treatment combination of 2.0 x 2.0 m plant spacing and three fourth shoot pruning for winter season crop. Reverse trend was observed in case of % flower/fruit drop during both the years. Number of fruits and yield per plant increased with increase in plant spacing. However, yield on the basis of per hectare was found higher with closer spacing (2.0 x 1.0 m). Treatment combination of 2.0 x 1.0 m plant spacing and three fourth shoot pruning gave maximum yield (238.75 q/ha) during winter season.