**2.19 Orchard floor management and weed management**

In plum orchard, sod culture and mulching of tree basin area with hay mulch or black alkathene mulch are the most common methods of orchard floor management. During pre-bearing stage, intercropping with legumes and vegetables is also practiced in orchards planted in flat and less sloppy land. The weed removal manually is one of the practices employed in the orchards besides inter cultivation and cover crop growing. In rainy seasons, the weeds in plum orchard are controlled with the post-emergence sprays of glyphosate at the rate of 800 ml/ hectare.

### **2.20 Crop regulation and quality improvement**

Generally plum tends to bear heavy crops and bear undersized fruits of low quality, and thinning, therefore, is necessary to increase the fruit size and uniformity in colour and to stimulate flower initiation for the regulation of next year's crop. Various methods such as ,manual, mechanical and use of chemicals are used, but chemical thinning has superiority with respect to thinning cost, fruit size and quality. NAA at 20 to 40 ppm sprayed after petal fall resulted in good fruit thinning.

#### **2.21 Maturity, harvesting and yield**

It has been observed that plum usually ripen unevenly over the tree. Fruits, therefore, are harvested in two or three pickings, and it is very important to find out the exact stage of picking when they are mature. Among various indices of maturity, most commonly used are flesh firmness 5.9 ± 0.45 kg, days from full bloom (94 ± 3), TSS 13.5–14.5 and TSS acidity ratio 1.2:1.5. The fruits are harvested with stalk intact avoiding any skin injury. Fruits are very delicate and perishable; therefore picking baskets should be lined with soft material on the inner surface. Immediately after plucking the fruits should be kept under the shade of the tree to remove field heat.
