Mango Cultivation

Mango has been grown in India since long and is considered to be king of fruits. Its mention has been made in Sanskrit literature as Amra.

Alexander the great found a mango garden in Indus valley in 327 B.C. Ameer Khurso saint and poet from Turkoman wrote a poem on mango as early as 1330 A.D. Akbar the great (1556-1605) planted one lac mango trees in his bagh, which was named as Lakh Bagh.

Origin

Vavilov suggested ‘Indo-Burma’ region as the centre of origin of mango. Folklore and religious sites of Indian people are attached to mango. Mango has attained the status of the national fruit of India. It travelled to west; South Africa and Mexico through mango stones. Genus Mangifera contains 49 species of which only 41 are valid. Mangifera indica to which the most of the present Indian cultivars belong is of great importance. Over one thousand varieties have been reported belonging to this genus. Some other genus found growing in India are M. sylvatica; M. caloneura, M. foetida and M. caesia. At present mango is commercially grown in Asia and European countries.

Area and Production

Mango is commercially cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttara Khand, Punjab and Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Mango cultivated over an area of 2309 thousand hectares with an annual production of 12750 thousand metric tones. India produces quality mangoes; Alphonso is highly liked by the western countries.

In Punjab, mango is being cultivated in whole of the sub-moutane belt comprising Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur Roop Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali and Patiala districts. Now its cultivation has spread to arid canal irrigated areas of northern India.

Uses

Mango leaves are fed to cattle in the shortage of fodder. Leaves are also used in various ceremonies in Hindu rituals. Mango tree has certain medicinal properties. Its wood is used for furniture making and as fuel. Fruit is a source of vitamin A and C. Mango pulp is laxative in nature and has unique nutritional value.

Fruit is utilized at all stages of development in various ways ranging from chutney, pickles and curries. Ripe fruit is taken after meals. Various types of syrups, nector, jams and jelleys are prepared from the pulp/juice. The stones kernels are fed to pigs. The bark of the wood is useful in the industry.

Soil

Mango can be grown on a variety of soils. Poorly drained soils should be avoided. It does not perform well in soils with pH more than 7.8. Alluvial soils with good amount of organic matter and soil pH between 6.5 to 7.5 are best suited for mango orchards.

Climate

Mango is a tropical fruit but is successful in sub-tropical conditions. At the time of flowering the occurrence of frost and rain is harmful. The most suitable temperature for the growth of mango is 22 – 27°C. Rains at fruit maturity are beneficial for the improvement of fruit size and quality.

Cultivars

Numerous cultivars of mango are being cultivated throughout the country. There are three kinds of mango cultivars depending upon the purpose, viz. pickle, sucking and table types. Different mango cultivars are
suited to different agro- climatic zones. Hence, while selecting a cultivar for orcharding, the fruit quality, productivity and adaptability to the area should be given prime importance. For example, Alphonso is very successful in Maharashtra and Goa areas; Dusehari in Lucknow (U.P.) and Suvamarekha in A.P. Kishan Bhog has failed in Punjab due to frost.

Planting:

Before planting a mango orchard, the layout and prepara¬tion of pits may be completed at least one month in advance. It is desirable to propagate own mango plants from a desired mother-tree of a true to type cultivar. In case it is not possible, then plants may be booked with the Fruit Research Station of Gurdaspur or at Gangian (Dasuya) of the Punjab Agricultural University.

Mango should preferably be planted from August to October. It can be planted in March if regular irrigations are applied in summer months.

Planting Distance:

It varies from cultivar to cultivar. Langra, Chausa and Rampur gola may be planted at a distance of 11.0 metres. Semivigorous cultivars like Dusehari and Alphanso may be planted at 9 metres apart. Amrapali can be planted at 7 metres or 7 X 3.5 m apart closely planted plants are required to be given a light pruning at the time of each harvested.

Planting in the Field:

Only well-sized healthy plants should be lifted from the nursery. Care should be taken to lift 80 percent of the feeder root and tap root system in an earth ball. The earth ball should not be too big to break during transportation. From distant nursery the plants should be brought in plastic bags of 30 X 15 cm size. Some quality soil + F.Y.M. mixture may be placed in each bag before placing the lifted earth ball in the bags.

It is better than trash/grass used for wrapping the earth balls. If it is not possible to get the polythene bags, than the containers (plastic/wooden) or crates should be used to pack the plants. This will help in checking the breakage of earth balls during transportation.

Remove the packing material gently and place the earth ball in centre of the prepared pits. The upper surface of the earth ball should be in level with the soil in the field. The plants should not be planted too high or too low in the prepared pits. Press the sides of the newly-planted plants carefully without pressing the original earth balls. Apply light irrigation immediately after planting and level the surroundings in ‘wattar’ conditions.

Care of the Young Plants:

Provide light irrigations at an interval of 4-7 days for a month or so. To save the grafts from being damaged due to high velocity winds, wooden stakes of which lower portions are dipped in coaltar to check the attack of white ants can be provided for the first year. Apply one litre solution to each plant by mixing chloropyriphos 10 ml/litre, after one month of planting to control white ants attack. Repeat this treatment in September for the first three years of age of the plant.

Winter/Frost Protection:

Young mango plants are very susceptible to low temperature and frost injury. Frost can damage grown up trees also. In North India, frost usually occurs from December to March. Hence adequate protection from winter injury should be provided to the young plants. Thatches/kullies of Sarkanda or paddy trash should be prepared in the month of November. Keep the southern side of the ‘kullies’ open for aeration and sunshine.

If the rainy reason had little rain then it is definite that severe frost shall occur in winter. Severe frost during January 2008 killed many mango plantations. In addition to thatches, a spray of clay (Golu/Pocha) @ 20% may be given during November before the occurrence of frost. Apply irrigations to keep the soil moisture in field conditions during winter months. Smudging should be carried out by burning the dry grass/ weeds or rice trash at some places in the orchards to keep up the orchard temperature. All these measures should be taken up simultaneously to protect the mango plantations from frost/ freeze injuries.

Protection during summers:

The young plants can be killed by hot summers (loo). Grow arhar around the plants to provide desired shade. It should be grown at least one metre away from the plants. White wash the tree trunks in April or wrap the trunks with paper to avoid sun injury

Inter Cropping or Fillers:

Usually mangoes are planted wide apart and have juvenile period of 4-5 years. Hence, the interspaces can profitably be utilized for growing of crops. Select the intercrop very carefully. For the proper development of root system and canopy of the young plants, aeration and moisture is very necessary.

It will be beneficial to remove weeds from the basins periodically. Intercrop should not interfere with the mango plants for nutrition, light and moisture. Intercrops can be grown for the first 4-5 years of age of the plants. Wheat can be sown by providing separate irrigation system to the mango plants. Pulses like grams and massar should be preferred. In Khariff season Moong or Arhar should be grown. Vegetable growing can be useful than intercrops. In Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane and poplar are being grown as intercrops.

Fillers are a good alternative to intercrops. Fruit plants like Plums, Peaches and Papaya can be planted as filler in mango plantations. Mango is a slow growing fruit crop. Hence, mango itself can be used a filler, which should be removed when it starts interfering with the main plants.

Irrigation:

Water is life for young plants. Light and frequent irrigations give better results than flooding after long intervals. Irrigation interval depends upon type of soil, climate and source of irrigation. The young mango plants should be kept at field capacity (‘Wattar’) during summers by applying irrigation at 5-7 days interval. Increase this interval slowly to 20 days as the winter starts.
During rainy season avoid irrigation. If intercrops are being grown, provide separate irrigation system to provide irrigation to the mango plants during April when wheat do not require any irrigation.
Under North Indian conditions, bearing trees should applied irrigation one week before flowering and then after fruit set. During winter months, the interval of irrigation may be over 25-30 days. Proper moist conditions should be kept from April to October.

Manuring and Fertilization:

It has been observed that plants supplied with high quantity of farmyard manure flourish well than fed with only inorganic/synthetic fertilizers. The requirements for various nutrients may vary in different soils for different mango cultivars. In general, plants should be given nutrition depending upon the age, canopy and yearly productivity.

Fruit Harvesting and Post-harvest Management:

Mango fruits should be harvested at full maturity along with pedicles. Utmost care should be taken to avoid injury. Fruit maturity can be assessed in the orchard itself when a fruit develops little colour of a cultivar or it gets light green, the fruits are mature enough to be harvested. At this stage, the orchard may be sprayed with Bavistin @ 1gm/L of water to control fungal attack in boxes. Fully mature but firm fruits should be picked up individually or with help of a harvester machine.

The trees should not be shaken for harvesting, because the fruits on falling get injured and invite rotting fungi. The maturity time varies from region to region. In Punjab, early ripening cultivars mature in mid-June to first week of July. Late cultivars mature in August.