Induction of Off-Season Flowering in Custard Apple (Annona squamosa L.) Cv. Balanagar

Pruning and defoliation are essential operations for inducing off-season flowering and fruiting to yield better quality and quantity of fruits in custard apple. Trees were subjected to two levels of pruning (25% and 50%) combined with use of chemical defoliants (urea 5%, Ethrel 2000ppm, potassium iodide 1%, or ortho-phosphoric acid 1%) besides the Control, with each treatment replicated thrice. Early initiation of flowering and better vegetative growth was seen in pruned (25%) and defoliated trees than in the Control or other treatments. Maximum off-season yield (10.33kg/ plant) was obtained in T4 (25% pruning, combined with 5% urea spray as defoliant) and T6 (25% pruning, combined with 1% potassium iodide-spray as defoliant). Findings of this investigation helped standardize pruning and defoliation practices on a scientific basis for off-season production of custard apple fruits.