International Journal of Environment and Climate Change

The present study was conducted at the experimental field of the Division of Fruit Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir during the year 2021-2022. The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of varying crop loads on the growth, yield, quality, and return bloom of Gala Redlum apples, with specific emphasis on trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA). The experimental design involved a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, utilizing 4-year-old Gala Redlum plants. The trees were subjected to manual thinning, resulting in crop loads of 4, 6, 8, 10 fruits per cm² of TCSA, with a non-thinned control group. Notably, the maximum fruit yield (18.52 kg/tree) was observed in the control group (no thinning), while the minimum yield (7.57 kg/tree) was recorded in the C₂ group (4 fruits per cm² of TCSA), followed by C₃ (11.03 kg/tree). Furthermore, the impact of different TCSA ranges on fruit yield was statistically significant. The maximum fruit yield (14.45 kg/tree) was observed in the S₂ group (10-12 cm² TCSA), while the minimum yield (12.16 kg/tree) was noted in the S₁ group (8-10 cm² TCSA). Yield efficiency, measured as yield per unit of TCSA, reached its highest (1.838 kg/cm²) in the control group and is lowest (0.766 kg/cm²) in the C₂ group (4 fruits per cm² of TCSA). The results further revealed that the C₂ group (4 fruits per cm² of TCSA) exhibited the maximum Total Soluble Solids (TSS) content (14.73 °Brix), total sugars (11.62%), and TSS: Acid ratio (61.45). Similarly, the C₃ group (6 fruits per cm² of TCSA) demonstrated elevated TSS (14.20 °Brix), total sugars (10.99%), and TSS: Acid ratio (54.66). Additionally, the S₂ group (10-12 cm² TCSA) recorded the highest TSS (13.75 °Brix), total sugars (10.51%), and TSS: Acid ratio (50.53). The combination of C₂S₂ and C₃S₂ treatments exhibited superior results, with the highest TSS (14.82 °Brix), total sugars (11.77%), and TSS: Acid ratio (62.64). Fruit firmness (8.81 kg/cm²) and fruit acidity (0.327%) were maximized in the C₁S₁ treatment combination.