~ 1120 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2019; 8(2): 1120-1123 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2019; 8(2): 1120-1123 Received: 19-01-2019 Accepted: 22-02-2019 Anshul Kumar Department of Fruit Science, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India DD Sharma Department of Fruit Science, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India DP Sharma Department of Fruit Science, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Bunty Shylla Subject Matter Specialist, HR&TS&KVK, Kandaghat, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Sumeet Sharma Department of Fruit Science, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Correspondence Anshul Kumar Department of Fruit Science, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India Effect of integrated nutrient sources on fruit quality of apricot ( Prunus armeniaca L.) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh Anshul Kumar, DD Sharma, DP Sharma, Bunty Shylla and Sumeet Sharma Abstract An experiment was conducted to assess the responses of different combinations of FYM, vermicompost, PSB, Azotobacter, nitrogenous sources (calcium nitrate and urea) along with Jeevamrut during 2015- 2017 on full grown (20 years) apricot trees of New Castle cultivar, planted at a distance of 5 × 5 m. The experiment had fourteen treatments with three replicates. It has been found that different treatments had a sighificant effect on fruit quality parameters. Maximum fruit length, fruit firmness and fruit breadth, fruit suture, fruit weight and fruit volume was recorded with the application of 50% N (CN) + 50% N (Urea) + Azotobacter + PSB + Vermicompost and 0% N (CN) + 50% N (Urea) + Azotobacter + PSB + Vermicompost, respectively. While, maximum TSS, TSS/acid ratio, total sugars (11.45%), reducing sugars and minimum titratable acidity was recorded under 50% N (CN) + 50% N (Urea) + Azotobacter + PSB + FYM]. Also, maximum yield was recorded with application of 50% N (CN) + 50% N (Urea) + Azotobacter + PSB + Vermicompost during the present course of study. Keywords: Apricot, fruit quality, Jeevamrut, vermicompost, yield Introduction Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important fruit crop of temperate regions of India. In India, it is mainly grown in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand and on a limited scale in North Eastern states. In Himachal Pradesh, it is one of the most important fruit crop in low as well as mid-hills. Among stone fruits, apricot ranks next only to plum and peach in area and production of 3650 ha and 11514 MT, respectively (Anonymous, 2017) [1] . ‘New castle’ is the commercially accepted cultivar of apricot for the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh, owing to excellent quality attributes, ripens towards the end of May when no other fruit is available in the market and is a source of good income to the orchardists of mid-hill regions. Continuous use of chemical fertilizers has degraded the soil health and also causes environmental and water pollution. INM is the most efficient and practical way to mobilize all the available, accessible and affordable plant nutrient sources in order to optimize the productivity of the crops and economic return to the farmer. The application of organic manures or biological products can also play significant role in qualitative and quantitative production of fruits. The judicious combination of inorganic and organic fertilizers along with bio-fertilizers may be helpful in increasing the fruit production in apricot. Fertilizers are one of the major inputs accounting for nearly one third of the cost of cultivation and its production consumes a lot of energy used in horticulture. Due to non-availability of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), the only option for nitrogenous fertilizers in hilly areas is calcium nitrate, which is very costly therefore, integration of cheaper source of N with calcium nitrate is necessary to reduce the cost of cultivation without affecting the yield component and soil health. Therefore, keeping in view these facts, the present study was conducted in order to study the effect of integrated nutrient sources on growth and yield of apricot cv. New Castle. Materials and Methods The present investigation was carried out in experimental orchard of 20 years old apricot planted at spacing of 5.0 x 5.0 m at Horticultural Research and Training station and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kandaghat (located at 30-50 °N latitude, 77.8 °E longitude with an elevation of 1325 m above mean sea level), Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.) during 2015-2017. The experiment consisted of fourteen treatments replicated thrice in randomized block design (Table 1).