Abstract
Current study was carried out for adaptability and response of newly introduced jujube (Ziziphus
mauritiana) variety in desert area of district Umerkot, Sindh with poor quality groundwater (>3500 ppm
TSS). Aim of the study was to acclimatize this variety under harsh conditions to uplift the socioeconomic situation of local population. The study was carried out for five consecutive fruiting seasons
viz. flowering and fruiting season 2013-2014 to 2017-2018. The results revealed that during first fruiting
season 2014-15, there were only three branches plant-1
, 154 to 239 fruits branch-1
, 462 to 879 fruits
plant-1
, 25.5 to 46.7 g fruit weight, 8.4 to 9.2 mm fruit size, 4.1 to 7.7 kg fruit yield plant-1
and 442.8 to
831.6 kg fruit yield acre-1
. But from the third year to onwards i.e from 2015 to 2018 a continuous
increase was observed for all characters studied like number of branches plant-1
increased from 5 to 8,
number of fruits branch-1 increased from 339 to 375, total fruits plant-1 increased from 1695 to 2538,
weight of fruit was increased from 58.6 to 107.15 g, size of fruit increased from 9.2 to 9.8 mm, yield
plant-1 was increased from 11.0 to 31.45 kg, yield acre-1 was increased from 1188 to 3396 kg and water
use efficiency increased from 2.7 to 10.6 kg m3
. Considering the above results, it was concluded that
Ziziphus fruit yield, weight and size increases from third year to onwards significantly on brackish water
and soil of arid areas of Thar. Pruning each year after fruit harvesting was found to be essential. As
this plant with stands in harsh climate of Thar desert successfully, so it provides food in the form of
fruits, fodder through leaves and wood for fuel and shelter for humans and animals, thus it will be
helpful to the people of Thar in terms of malnutrition, food scarcity and climate change, as well.
A. K. Pathan, M. S. Depar, M. W. Kalroo, R. Ahmed, I. A. Rajput . (2020) RESPONSE AND ACCLIMATIZATION OF INTRODUCED JUJUBE (ZIZIPHUS MAURITIANA) VARIETY FOR THE UPLIFT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AT DESERT AREA OF THARPARKAR, SINDH, PAKISTAN, Pakistan Journal of Agriculture, Agriculture Engineering & Veterinary Sciences, Volume 36, Issue 1.
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