Vol. 10, Special Issue 1, Part N (2026)

The field study was conducted at Central Research Farm of the ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh during 2023-24 and 2024-25 in a 15 years old Bael orchard. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomised block design with two cultivars (V₁: CISHB-2 and V₂: NB-9) and four canopy architectures (C₁: Central Leader System, C₂: Modified Leader system, C₃: Open Centre System and C_4: Untrained Tree). Cultivar NB-9 was superior in terms of yield (138.23 q/ha) and production efficiency (0.16 kg/cm² trunk cross sectional area). The flower bud initiation was earliest in V₁C₃ (12^th May in 2023 and 8^th May in 2024) and flower initiation was earliest in V₁C₃ (1^st June in 2023 and 7^th June in 2024). The end of flowering was earliest in V₁C₃ (2^nd July in 2023 and 7^th July in 2024) and late in V₂C₁ (17^th July 2023 and 18^th July in 2024). Maximum flowering duration was exhibited in CISHB-2 and the Central Leader System (30 days and 34 days, respectively). The Open Center System took the minimum number of days (310 days) from fruit set to harvest. The Central leader system recorded a higher fruit yield (153.48 q/ha), while the Open Centre System showed higher production efficiency (0.18 kg/cm² trunk cross-sectional area). Overall, trained trees with various canopy architectures performed well in terms of flowering behavior and fruit yield. The Central Leader System significantly increased fruit yield, while the Open center system improved production efficiency and performed well to reduce the fruit development period (from fruit set to harvest).