Nursery evaluation of popular apple cultivars under mid hill conditions of North-Western Himalayan region

Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) is the most valuable and leading commercial temperate fruit in the North-Western Himalayan region. The performance of apple cultivars and rootstocks is critical for determining a productive orchard system. Almost all rootstock research is focused on orchard results, but there is very little research done in the nursery performance of various cultivars. So, this experiment aims to evaluate propagation eficiency, growth characteristics, and quality parameters of different apple cultivar-rootstock combinations during the nursery phase. Eleven different apple cultivars grafted on seedling rootstocks were evaluated under nursery conditions using a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and vegetative attributes such as graft success, plant height, radial growth, leaf area, root metrics, and overall plant marketability were assessed. During the investigations Gale Gala (T ) cultivar of apple had recorded maximum graft success (95.97 %), survival per cent (94.50 10 %), chlorophyll content (2.65 mg/g), healthy (88.83 %) and saleable plants (78.67 %) while Chelan Spur (T ) had recorded 5 maximum scion (10.56 mm) and stock diameter (10.90 mm) whereas minimum scion (9.38 mm) and stock diameter (9.76 mm) was 2 measured inKing Roat (T ). Leaf area and number of leaves per plants were recorded highest in Royal Delicious (T ) i.e. 34.48 cm and 8 1 45.00, respectively. From the investigations conducted it was observed that Gale Gala had induced largest vegetative growth variables under nursery conditions that create the essential biological foundation for successful orchard establishment than other cultivars of apple, whereas King Roat performed the poorest. The study encountered variability in seedling rootstock performance due to luctuating nursery microclimatic conditions. Despite these constraints, careful experimental management ensured reliable evaluation of cultivar performance and provided systematic, comparative information on the performance of different apple cultivars grafted on seedling rootstock under nursery conditions, a stage that is often overlooked despite its critical role in orchard success.