Seaweed Extract as a Biostimulant Agent to Enhance the Fruit Growth, Yield, and Quality of Kiwifruit

The kiwifruit [Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang & A.R. Ferguson] has attained significant importance for commercial cultivation in the mid-Himalayan region of Indian subcontinent during last three decades. fruit quality matching international standards remained a concern. Keeping mind bio-stimulatory effects seaweed extract, marine bioactive component horticultural crops, current study conducted to elucidate impact extract on growth, yield, and was Department Fruit Science’s block at Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University Horticulture Forestry, Nauni, Himachal Pradesh, India. For studies, nine-year-old Allison kiwi vines uniform size vigor were planted spacing 4 m × 6 m. With 11 treatments, experiment set up randomized design viz, T1: Spray treatment 1000 ppm (seaweed extract) SWE (FS); T2:Spray 2000 FS; T3: 3000 T4: FS 10 days after T5: (DAFS); T6: T7: dip T8: @ T9: @3000 set; T10: 5 CPPU T11: Control. compared several which applied various times concentrations, N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N-phenyl-urea (CPPU-5ppm) untreated control. Seaweed (SWE) produced growth length diameter growing kiwifruit, non-significant with superior shape index, weight, total yield also found be highest same treatment. parameters, namely soluble solids contents (SSC) sugars, recorded maximum dose DAFS. SSC: Acid ratio reducing sugars as an application DAFS) advance harvesting maturity by exhibited lowest physiological loss weight (% PLW) ascorbic acid content. After 15 storage ambient room temperature (25 ± 2 °C), DAFS SSC titratable acidity. Thus, can recommended farmers appropriate alternative chemical