Vol. 7, Issue 12, Part G (2025)

Poor fruit retention and low yield are major production constraints in Alphonso mango, often attributed to imbalanced nutrient management. A field experiment was conducted during 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the Centre of Excellence for Mango, College of Horticulture, Dapoli, to study the effect of different soil and foliar nutrient application strategies on fruit retention, yield and quality of mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Alphonso. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design with four nutrient management treatments comprising F₁- recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF), F₂- RDF in split application, F₃- RDF with foliar application of Amrashakti (2.5%) and F₄- RDF with foliar application of KNO₃ (1%), in combination with irrigation and mulching treatments. Results revealed that F₂- RDF in split (N-30% P-40% K-20% after harvest, N 30% P-40% K-20% during fruit set, N-20% K-30% at marble stage, N-20% P-20% K-30% egg stage) significantly improved fruit retention (6.71%), number of fruits per tree (134.50) and fruit yield (34.76 kg/tree) compared to other treatment. Improved fruit quality in terms of fruit weight (254.46 g), fruit length (9.69 cm), fruit width (8.23 cm), pulp:stone ratio (5.21) and spongy tissue incidence (5.94%) was also recorded under same treatments. The study indicated that split application of nutrient is essential for enhancing productivity and fruit quality of Alphonso mango under Konkan agro-climatic conditions.