*2.26.3 Thinning*

Hand thinning is commonly practised. First shake the branches to dislodge fruits which are likely to drop off naturally. If still surplus is there, then start thinning from top to bottom. Hold the stem of fruit to be removed between the thumb and the second finger, and pull it off gently. Foliar spray of 200 ppm ethephon and 100 ppm carbaryl at full bloom is very effective for blossom thinning.

#### *2.26.4 Harvesting*

It is a climacteric fruit. So it should be picked at proper stage of maturity. It starts yielding within 2–3 years of planting. Peak season is May.

**95**

*Production Technology of Peach, Plum and Apricot in India*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92884*

**2.27 Pests**

Mites. Nematodes.

**2.28 Diseases**

**2.29 Varieties**

*2.29.1 Santa Rosa*

Upright trees.

Prolific bearer. Very juicy fruit.

Spreading tree.

Yellow-coloured flesh.

Early maturing variety.

Upright growing tree. Requires cross-pollination. Heart-shaped fruit.

Red-coloured flesh. Good shelf life.

Sterile pollens; require pollinizer.

Skin: greenish yellow mottled with red.

Vigorous, upright, high yielding.

Red-purple-coloured large fruits.

Bright crimson fruit; thick-skinned.

Santa Rosa when used as pollinizer improves the yield.

Partially self-unfruitful.

Red, firm, sweet flesh.

*2.29.5 Satluj Purple*

Sweet taste.

*2.29.2 Red Beauty*

*2.29.3 Mariposa*

*2.29.4 Frontier*

Large purple crimson fruit. Amber coloured flesh.

Medium-sized fruit; mix of red and yellow colour.

San Jose scale. Plum twig borer. Plum fruit moth.

Bacterial canker. Brown rot. Crown rot. *Cytospora* canker. *Production Technology of Peach, Plum and Apricot in India DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92884*

### **2.27 Pests**

Prunus

**2.22 Grading and packing**

**2.23 Storage and marketing**

**2.24 Flowering and fruiting**

from fruit set till maturity.

**2.26 Training and pruning**

branches about half of their length.

*2.26.1 Training*

*2.26.2 Pruning*

*2.26.3 Thinning*

*2.26.4 Harvesting*

**2.25 Manuring and fertilisation**

To obtain high price in the market, the grading of the fruits is done to have uniform size and better quality. The packing and grading standards of the plum are:

Plums being perishable have very short shelf life. In India the work in HP has revealed that plum can be stored for 1 to 2 weeks at 0°C with 80–90% humidity. The CA storage has been practiced overseas by maintaining 2–3% oxygen and 2–8%

Flowering starts in the second fortnight of February and last up to the first week of March. Growth pattern follows a double sigmoid curve. Specific gravity decreases

**State FYM (kg/tree) N (g/tree) P2O5 (g/tree) K2O (g/tree)** Punjab 36 180 90 216 Himachal Pradesh 40 500 250 700

The tree is trained to modified leader system and headed back to a height of

Annual pruning is done in January. Remove thin and crowding twigs and branches. Thin out criss-crossed, lengthy, dried and diseased branches. After every 4–5 years of fruiting, heavy pruning should be done by heading back lengthy

Hand thinning is commonly practised. First shake the branches to dislodge fruits

which are likely to drop off naturally. If still surplus is there, then start thinning from top to bottom. Hold the stem of fruit to be removed between the thumb and the second finger, and pull it off gently. Foliar spray of 200 ppm ethephon and

It is a climacteric fruit. So it should be picked at proper stage of maturity. It

100 ppm carbaryl at full bloom is very effective for blossom thinning.

starts yielding within 2–3 years of planting. Peak season is May.

90 cm from ground level. Select four to five well-spaced laterals to grow.

CO2, and the fruits can be retained for a duration of 2–3 months.

**94**

San Jose scale. Plum twig borer. Plum fruit moth. Mites. Nematodes.
