Effect of Fruit Thinning Practices on Fruit Yield and Economics of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera l.) cv. Local

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during 2024 at the Horticultural Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, B. A. College of Agriculture, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, to evaluate the effect of fruit thinning practices on yield-related parameters and economics of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cv. Local. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomised design with three replications and eleven treatments, including different levels of strand thinning, strand shortening, individual fruit thinning and an untreated control. Among the treatments, thinning 50% strands per bunch (T4) produced the highest fruit length (4.02 cm), fruit diameter (1.78 cm), 10-fruit weight (74.26 g), 10-fruit pulp weight (64.94 g), pulp: stone ratio (6.98) and number of fruits per strand (27.17). The effects of fruit thinning were non-significant for 10-fruit stone weight, number of bunches per palm, bunch weight and fruit yield expressed as kg/palm and t/ha. The highest fruit yield (115.75 kg/palm; 18.06 t/ha) and the highest net realisation (₹400665/ha) with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.84 were recorded under thinning 30% strands per bunch (T3). The findings indicate that fruit thinning, particularly 50% strand thinning, improved selected fruit physical traits, whereas 30% strand thinning provided the best yield and economic outcome under the conditions of this study.