EVALUATION OF BER CULTIVARS FOR GROWTH, YIELD AND YIELD ATTRIBUTING TRAITS UNDER NORTHERN DRY ZONE OF KARNATAKA INDIA

Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) is an important dryland fruit crop grows as an evergreen shrub or tree mainly cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions of the country.Many varieties of ber are being cultivated in different parts of the country based on their adaptability to the particular region.Present investigation entitled 'Evaluation of ber cultivars for growth, yield and yield attributing traits under Northern dry zone of Karnataka' was conducted during the year 2023-24 at Horticulture Research and Extension Centre, Tidagundi, Vijayapura, under the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot.The experiment was laid out in a RBD design with eight treatments which are replicated thrice.Among different varieties evaluated, Chhuhara recorded the maximum plant height (3.98 m), leaf area (57.71 cm) and specific leaf area (149.61cm/g) at 120 DAP (days after pruning), along with the highest TSS (20.33 Brix), lowest acidity (0.27 %) and highest TSS to acid ratio (76.36).Umran exhibited the maximum fruit weight (17.01 g), pulp weight (15.63 g), pulp to stone ratio (14.28), pulp recovery (93.42 %), highest yield (45.55 kg/plant and 12.11 t/ha).Kadaka recorded the largest fruit (43.65 mm) and highest vitamin C content (97.61 mg/100g).The cultivar Mehrun showed the highest leaf chlorophyll content (28.82 SPAD), shortest duration from flowering to harvest (102.45 days) and pruning to harvest (184.14 days).