INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT LEVEL OF WATER AND FERTILIZER APPLICATION THROUGH DRIP SYSTEM ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF KINNOW MANDARIN (Citrus reticulata BLANCO)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at fruit orchard, Department of Horticulture, CCS HAU, Hisar to standardize the optimum level of water and NPK fertilizers through drip system for the sustained production of Kinnow mandarin under semi-arid condition of Haryana. The experiment was designed in factorial RBD with three replications and consisted of twelve treatment combinations, involving of three drip irrigation regimes (1.0, 0.8 and 0.6 volume of water) and four RDF levels of NPK (120%, 100%, 80% and 60% RDF). Significantly highest gain in plant growth parameters viz., plant height (48.8 cm), stem girth (6.24 cm) and plant spread (40.1 cm) was observed with the combined application of drip irrigation at 1.0 volume of water and 120% RDF through fertigation, whereas, highest number of fruits (515.9) and yield per hectare (258.7 quintals) was registered with the interaction effect of 0.8 volume of water and 80% RDF through drip irrigation.