Apricot is a type of fruit grown in the dry temperate and mid-hill regions of India. This fruit produc in the hills of Shimla and Himachal Pradesh. Apricot fruit use for jam, nectar, dessert and this fruit can dry and canned. Commercial apricot farming in India minimal. Apricot fruit sweets are used in bakeries and oil removal.
Apricots with white flesh and the sweet kernel needs more excellent climatic requirements and best grown in dry temperate areas up to 3000 meters above m.s.l (mean sea level). Yellow flesh apricots with bitter kernels require warm climatic conditions and best grown 1000 to 1500 meters above m.s.l (mean sea level). Long cool winters with frost-free conditions and warm seasons best for its fruit set. South Western at higher altitudes and North Eastern India at lower heights best suited for apricot farming. These trees need about 100 cm of well-distributed annual rainfall throughout their growth period.
Apricot Farming Soil Requirement
Apricots can develop on a wide variety of soils. However, well-drained deep soils with good natural matter are best for their growth and yield. It advis to have a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. However, wild apricots can plant in well-drained light soils with less fertility in Ladakh and Kinnaur districts.
Apricot Farming Propagation
Generally, apricots are commercially produced by grafting or budding and T-budding, Tongue grafting and Chip budding used for its multiplication. For raising rootstock, seeds should grow from ripening wild apricots. These seeds need stratification for 45 days at 4°C to break dormancy. After the layer, seeds need to cover in 5ppm Kinetin or 500 ppm GA3 solution for 24 hours before sowing to speed up the germination. After that, seeds should plant 5 to 10 cm deep on nursery beds at a reference to seed spacing of 15 to 20 cm and row-to-row distance of 25 to 30 cm. After planting, nursery beds should mulch, and light watering should give. Next, the seedlings of pencil thickness should associate with the tongue method.
Apricot Farming Land Preparation
Dig the size of the pit of 1 x 1 x 1meter just 1 month before planting. Each hole should be filled with a mixture of soil and 60 kg of well rotten farmyard manure, 1 kg of single super phosphate and 10 ml of Chorapyripos solution (10ml /10 litres of water). For example, the apricot plants are generally spaced at 6 meters x 6 meters. Next, transplant the nursery raised 1-year seedlings to the main field and placed them in the pit centre. Make sure to rinse the plants immediately after planting in the pits of the primary area. Farmers need a tractor that does their work efficiently without creating any obstacle. That’s why Eicher 380 is the best option for them. Also, it comes with an affordable price range.
Apricot Farming Pruning
Apricot trees train on the modified centre manager and open vase arrangements. Directed back at 70 cm above the ground, 4 to 5 well-spaced shoots should allow to grow in all directions. To give the excellent shape, pruning should carry out in the first latent season.
In the first dormant pruning, 4 to 5 primary scaffold branches arising at proper angles, well-spaced and spirally arranged around the tree trunk should select. The lowest part should 45 cm over the ground level. During 2nd dormant pruning, 6 to 7 well-spaced small scaffold branches should choose on each primary function of the tree, and others should remove. At the end of the 3rd year, pruning should confined to thinning the arms crossing each other or congestion.
Apricot Farming Irrigation
Apricots need irrigation, especially during the fruit growth stage in April to May. The frequency of spraying depends on the soil type, tree age and climate conditions. Watering should give at 8 to 10 days intervals (May to June). In heavy rains, the soil should separat as these trees are sensitive to waterlogging.
Harvesting in Apricot Farming
Apricot fruits generally matured in the first week of May – June end depending upon variety. Apricot trees start producing fruits from the fifth year and attain the most fruit-bearing stage at 8 to 10 years after planting and maintain up to 35 years. Therefore, the manual collection should practise. For new marketing, fruits should pluck after they change the surface colour from green to yellowish.
Fully grown fruits can harvest for drying, freezing and canning plan. Extreme care should take care of after cutting as these fruits perishable. As a post-harvesting method, fruits graded based on the size and carried in wooden boxes. For better harvesting purposes Eicher 333 tractor model best for providing service.
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