My Dasheri trees give a huge crop one year and almost nothing the next. The off year really hurts income. Is there any way to make Dasheri bear more evenly?
2 Answers
Dasheri is a classic alternate (biennial) bearer and you cannot fully remove the cycle, only soften it. The on year exhausts reserves, so the tree skips next year. Practices that help: in the heavy on year, do some fruit thinning and good nutrition so the tree is not totally drained; after harvest give a recovery dose of nutrients and irrigation so it can build flowering shoots; maintain regular hopper and anthracnose control so leaves stay healthy. Light pruning to keep the canopy open and productive helps. Paclobutrazol soil application is used by some growers to promote flowering in the off year, but it is a plant growth regulator with carryover and residue concerns, so use it only at recommended dose and timing under KVK guidance and never on export-bound orchards without checking residue limits. Healthy, well-fed trees swing less.
Good post-harvest care reduced my off-year gap. I used to ignore the trees after picking, now I feed and water them and the next crop is better.