CROP HUSBANDRY-MANGO CULTIVATION PRACTICES IN KERALA

MANGO (Mangifera indica)
Mango is adaptable to a wide range of climate and soil conditions and grows well from sea level up to about 1500 m above mean sea level. It withstands both fairly dry conditions and heavy rainfall.

Varieties
Alphonso, Kalapady, Neelum, Mundappa, Pairi, Benishan, Alampur Benishan, Mulgoa, Suvarnarekha.

Hybrids
Hybrid No.45 (Bennet Alphonso x Himayuddin), Hybrid No.87 (Kalapady x Alampur Benishan), Hybrid No.151 (Kalapady x Neelum)

Season
Plant one year old grafts with the onset of monsoon showers so that they get established before the rains. If rainfall is heavy, planting should be done during August-September.

Vegetative propagation
Stone grafting is successful in mango. August is ideal for the operation. Select four month old scion materials. Defoliation of scion shoots 10 days prior to grafting is beneficial. Grafting of 8 cm long scion on rootstocks at a height of 6 to 8 cm is most successful. The dieback disease of grafts caused by Colletotrichum can be controlled by spraying 1% Bordeaux mixture.

Planting
Select good grafts for planting. Planting can be done according to the square system or hexagonal system. Prepare pits of size 1 x 1 x 1 m at a spacing of 9 m one month before planting and allow to weather. Refill pits with mixture of topsoil and 10 kg of compost or FYM per pit to a level higher than the adjoining ground. Plant the grafts at the same depths as they were in the containers, preferably in the late evening. Deep planting results in poor growth of the plant. Ensure that the graft joint is above the soil level. Tie the plants to stakes to prevent snapping at the graft joints.

Manuring
Apply FYM/compost and fertilizers at the rate indicated below:


(Age of plant)


(FYM kg/Plant/Year)



(N:P2O5:K2O)
(g/plant/year)

1st year

10


20:18:50

2nd year


15


50:27:75

3-5 years

25


100:36:100

6-7 years


40


250:172:200

8-10 years


50


400:144:400

0ver 10 years

75


500:360:750

Green leaves (25 kg/plant) and wood ash (10-15 kg/plant) may be applied additionally. Apply organic manures in May-June with the onset of monsoon. Apply the fertilizers in one dose during May-June until bearing stage and thereafter in two equal split doses, the first during May-June and the second during August-September. Apply manures and fertilizers in trenches 30 cm deep taken at a distance of 2.5 to 3 m from the base of the tree.

After cultivation
Irrigate twice a week during summer months till the plants are 4-5 years old. Grow vegetables, horse gram, black gram, pineapple and banana as intercrops in young orchards. Carry out intercultural operations by ploughing or digging twice during the year in June and October. For reducing fruit drop and to improve productivity, NAA at 10-30 ppm concentration may be sprayed to the entire inflorescence at the pea stage in the second week after fruit set.

Plant protection
The important pests of mango are hoppers, stem borers, shoot midges, leaf feeding insects, fruit flies and psyllids. The common diseases are the powdery mildew, anthracnose and dieback. To control mango hopper, spray carbaryl 0.1% or malathion 0.1% at the time of flowering. To control mango stem borer, apply paste made of crude carbolic acid (130 ml), soft soap (1 kg) and hot water (3.7 litres) to holes in the bark and plug the holes. Alternatively, inject aluminium phosphide tablets into the burrows after chiselling the opening and widening the burrows with an auger. To control fruit fly, spray malathion 0.1% emulsion / suspension containing 2% sugar. Collect and destroy attacked fruits that rot and drop down. Fruit flies can be effectively managed by keeping Ocimum trap @ 4 / tree and a bait spray of 0.1% malathion with 2% sugar at monthly intervals from initial fruit set up to harvest. To control the leaf feeding insects, apply carbaryl 0.1%. To control shoot midge, which causes the drying of tender shoots, apply carbaryl 0.1% or dimethoate 0.05%. Apply wettable sulphur for the control of powdery mildew and anthracnose. To control dieback of twigs and branches, cut the affected twigs below the infected region and apply Bordeaux paste to the cut ends.