Impact of Salt-affected Soil on the Growth and Yield of Thompson Seedless Grapes
S. R. Bhagwat *
R and D Unit Maharashtra State Grape Growers’ Association, Manjri Farm Post, Pune, 412307, India.
J. N. Kalbhor
R and D Unit Maharashtra State Grape Growers’ Association, Manjri Farm Post, Pune, 412307, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In two separate locations within Maharashtra's grape-growing region, the study was carried out on soils damaged by salt. The purpose of the study was to find out how well grapevines performed in terms of growth indices on sodic soils in Maharashtra under various climate conditions. Five distinct locations were used to select the variety Thompson seedless grafted on dog ridge rootstocks. The grapevines were trained on the Y system and planted with a spacing of 3.3 × 1.6 m. Two of the five places were in the Sangli district, two were in the Solapur district, and one was in Pune (no sodic soil). The vines growing under MRDBS site (no sodic soil) exhibited the highest vegetative growth, as measured by shoot length (cm), intermodal distance (mm), cane thickness (mm), leaf area (m2), and total chlorophyll contents.
The sodicity of the soil affected the growth at other locations, however for yield observations, the grape bunches were picked when they reached harvestable maturity, which was defined as total soluble solids of 17.50° Brix. The available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrient findings on soil were substantially lower than the control. According to the study, grapevine growth, yield, gas exchange parameters, and nutrient status were all negatively impacted by the highly sodic soil.
Keywords: Yield quality, grapevines, nutrient status, sodic soil, growth parameters