The Use of Plant Growth Regulators for Yield and Quality Improvement of Kinnow Mandarin

The yield and quality of Kinnow mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) in Pakistan is very low compared to other citrus growing countries of the world. The experiment was conducted to improve the yield and quality of Kinnow and also to trigger the maturity for early harvesting as Kinnow is late maturing cultivar under agro ecological conditions of Pakistan. Various growth regulators (2,4-D, GA₃ and NAA) were applied at three different levels each during the last week of November, 2005 on ten years old thirty plants of Kinnow grafted on Rough Lemon. The exogenous application of various plant growth regulators significantly increased the yield of Kinnow by decreasing the preharvest drop. Among the quality parameter juice percentage, total soluble solids (TSS), acidity percentage, Vitamin –C contents, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars and total sugars showed significant differences as compared to control. It was also observed that horticultural maturity of Kinnow was gained 15 days earlier compared to control with optimum quality. Overall results revealed that yield and quality of Kinnow can be improved with exogenous application of plant growth regulators.