Flowering and physico-chemical characters of Santa Rosa plum as affected by nitrogen and boron

Present study was conducted in a farmer's orchard near SKUAST-Kashmir, Srinagar during 2012 and 2013 on seven year old Santa Rosa plum to examine the effect of nitrogenous fertilizer and boron on flowering and physio-chemical characters. Urea @ 500 g (N1), CaNO3 @ 1450 g (N2), N1 + 50 g boron (N3) and N2 + 50 g boron (N4) were applied at T1 = Full dose in spring, T2 = Full dose after harvest and T3 = 3/4 dose in spring and 1/4 dose after harvest. Early flowering and maturity of fruits was recorded in N1 T3 and N1 T1. N1 T1 recorded maximum fruit weight (40.24 g and 41.02 g), fruit length (38.37 mm and 39.55 mm), fruit diameter (40.42 mm and 41.60 mm) and pulp weight (38.90 g and 39.67 g) in both the years. N4 T1 treatment registered maximum TSS (15.66 and 16.69°Brix) and maximum total sugar (9.15 and 9.21%) was recorded in N2 T1 treatment. Both sources of nitrogen and boron can be considered as best fertilizer in plum orchards for proper flowering, high yield and improving quality of the fruits.