Effect of Foliar Application of Zinc and Boron on Yield and Quality of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Ganesh under Subtropical Conditions of Garhwal Hills

An experiment was conducted on ten year old pomegranate trees cv. Ganesh at Horticultural Research Centre, Chauras, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand during summer season 2012 to find out the effect of foliar application of zinc and boron on yield and quality of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Ganesh. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The treatment consisted of two foliar applications of Zinc sulphate and Boric acid with their combinations viz., T1 (Zn @ 0.4%), T2 (Zn @ 0.5%), T3 (Zn @ 0.6%), T4 (B @ 0.4%), T5 (B @ 0.5%), T6 (B@ 0.6%), T7 (Zn+B @ 0.4% each), T8 (Zn+B @ 0.5% each), T9 (Zn+B @ 0.6 % each) , and T10 (control). The findings revealed that the average values for fruiting percentage (67.83 %), weight of fruits (202.88 g), length of fruits (7.00 cm), volume of fruits (213.33 ml), fruit yield (35.16 kg/tree), acidity of fruits (0.34 %) and vitamin C content of fruits (48.00 mg/100g) were found to be the highest under the treatment T7 (Zn+B @ 0.4 % each). The maximum fruit diameter (6.63 cm), specific gravity (0.98 g/cm3) and vitamin A content (14.87 ?g/100g) were observed under the treatment T5 (B @ 0.5%). The highest value for TSS content (13.33 °Brix) of fruits was recorded under treatment T4 (B @ 0.4%). The treatment combination of boric acid and zinc sulphate @ 0.4 % each gave superior fruit yield and quality of pomegranate