Author(s):

Gulave CM and Dr. VR Joshi

Abstract: The investigation was carried out at Instructional-Cum-Research Orchard of AICRP on Arid Zone Fruits, Department of Horticulture, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri during the year 2016-17 on 10 years old orchard, spaced at 5m x 5 m in randomized block design with nine treatments and three replications. It involved five cover crops i.e. Maize (T₁), Bajra (T₂), Dhaincha (T₃), Jowar (T₄) and Sunhemp (T₅), two irrigation systems i.e. Sprinkler (T₆) and Foggar (T₇), Sod culture (T₈) and control i.e. conventional method (T₉).Cover crops were sown on 2^nd of February 2016. The significantly minimum number of days (21.03) required for initiation of custard apple flowering in treatment Sunhemp (T₅) as a cover crop which was at par with the treatments Dhaincha (T₃) as a cover crop (21.53), Jowar (T₄) as a cover crop (21.67) and Bajra (T₂) as a cover crop (21.80). The maximum number of flowers per branch was recorded in cover crop Bajra (T₂)(62.00) which was statistically at par with all the cover crops, Jowar (57.25),Maize (56.98), Dhaincha (56.17) and Sunhemp (55.36) respectively. Bajra sown as cover crop recorded significantly higher pollen viability percentage (88.24 %) and higher fruit set percentage (44.97%). However two irrigation system i. e. Sprinkler (T₆) and Foggar (T₇) shows less significant effect in respect of days required for initiation of flowering, number of flowers per branch, pollen viability (%) and fruit set (%) as compared to cover crops.

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