EFFECT OF BUNCH LOAD AND FOLIAR APPLICATION OF MICRONUTRIENTS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF GRAPES CV. THOMPSON SEEDLESS

Grape (Vitis vinifera L.), traditionally a temperate region fruit crop, faces challenges such as uneven ripening, poor bunch development and susceptibility to abiotic stresses when cultivated in India's tropical or subtropical belts.To address these issues, the present study "Effect of bunch load and foliar application of micronutrients on the growth and yield of grapes cv.Thompson Seedless" was conducted during the year of 2023-24 at Horticulture Research and Extension Centre (HREC), Tidagundi, Vijayapura, under the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot.The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with eight treatments and three replications.Among different treatments, B 1 M 3 (35 bunches/vine) with foliar application combination of [Si (1 g/L) + Ca-EDTA (0.5 g/L) + B (0.05 %)] resulted in the highest leaf chlorophyll (33.03 and 34.93 SPAD values), leaf area (85.94 and 137.09 cm), specific leaf area (148.17 and 187.79 cm/g) and the lowest specific leaf weight (6.75 and 5.43 mg/cm) at 45 and 90 days after forward pruning (DAFP).This treatment also had the maximum berry length (22.16 mm), berry diameter (16.82 mm), number of berries per bunch (162.32), 100 berries weight (247.70 g), bunch weight (368.80 g), bunch length (22.11 cm), bunch width (10.25 cm), bunch volume (305.10 cm), pedicel thickness (2.67 mm), benefit-to-cost ratio (2.84:1) and minimum berry shattering (3.82 %).The highest yield (14.41 kg/vine and 30.98 t/ha) was observed in treatment B 2 M 3 .