. Rain-induced fruit cracking in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars

Survey of cherry orchards in Srinagar and Shopion districts of Kashmir revealed that rain-induced fruit cracking varied with cultivars and Misri recorded highest loss (>50%) of fruit due to cracking followed by Awal Number, Double and Makhmali. The relative susceptibility of different cultivars has also been confirmed in the laboratory by dipping of ripened fruits in water for 48 hours. To test the efficiency of certain chemicals in reducing the rain-induced fruit cracking in sweet cherries ripened fruits were dipped in aqueous solutions of CaCl2 (0.5 and 1.0%), NAA (10 and 20 ppm) and GA3 (25 and 50 ppm) for a period of 48 hours at room temperature and cracking of fruits was observed accordingly. Distilled water without any chemical was served as control. Cultivars responded differently to various chemical treatments. GA3 (50-100 ppm) was found most effective in controlling the rain-induced fruit cracking in Awal Number, while as CaCl2 at 1.0% gave better results with Makhmali, Double and Misri cultivars. Preharvest foliar spray of GA3 (100 ppm) and CaCl2 (1.0%) also confirmed their superiority in controlling the fruit cracking in “Awal number” and other cultivars, respectively as compared to other treatments.