Anil Kumar Acharya* , Shanti Acharya, Abiral Kushwaha and Kishor Chandra Dahal
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, TU
*Corresponding author’s email: acharyanilku@gmail.com *ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0815-6352

Abstract

During the Hill Agriculture Project 1976-1979 AD and Horticulture Development Project 1985, germplasms of grapevines were officially introduced in Nepal. Grape farming is considered the remunerative enterprises among the fruit crops. During the last five years 2017-2021, the import value of fresh grapes and dried grapes increased by about 181 and 200 percentage respectively. The huge gap in demand and production shows the great scope to expand both area and production of grapes. However, the monsoon period coinciding with berry harvest is considered a major constraint for its successful cultivation. This paper aims to develop understanding the facts of bud fruitfulness and the exogenous application of Gibberellic Acid (GA) at different berry growth stages along with hydrogen cyanamide (H2CN2) application for better and uniform budburst and production in designing research and developmental activities. The burst bud is just the visible phenomenon, however the fruitfulness is the qualitative phenomenon. The mechanism is a complex process leading to the formation of reproductive structures having three well-defined stages (formation of anlagen-inflorescence primordia-flowers). Better and uniform budburst is found to be dependent both on concentration and time of H2CN2 application during later winter. GA is used to cluster loosening, thinning and increasing berry size for better yield and quality of grapes. GA used to improve the berry size is a common practice, however, its doses and stages of application determines the successful viticulture. The strategy needed to develop the GA doses and stages of application are discussed and a plausible strategy is recommended.