Mango (Mangifera indica) Production
Land preparation:
(Mangifera indica) is the leading fruit crop of India and considered to be the king of fruits. Besides delicious taste, excellent flavour and attractive fragrance, it is rich in vitamin A&C. The tree is hardy in nature and requires comparatively low maintenance costs.Land should be prepared by deep ploughing followed by harrowing and levelling with a gentle slope for good drainage. Mango requires deep well drained soil to enable the deep root to penetrate effectively.
Varieties
Mango performs well in all the ecololgical zones of Nigeria. The recommended varieties are Palmer, Julie Alphonso, Esdwards, Ogbommosho, Haden, Saigon, Zill and Early Gold Grafted seedlings of these varieties are obtainable at the Capitals National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan.
Recently some mango hybrids have been released for cultivation by different institutes / universities. A brief introduction to such varieties is presented below:
Amrapali: It is a dwarf vigorous type with consistent and late bearing variety. The fruit is a cross between Dashehari and Neelam and produces about 16 t/ha on an average. Roughly 1600 plants can be accommodated in one hectare.
Mallika: The fruits are a cross between Neelam and Dashehari. Average sized cadmium coloured with good value, reported to be a consistent bearer.
Arka Aruna: Fruits are large sized (500-700 gm), free from spongy tissue, dwarf in nature with attractive skin colour and is a hybrid between Banganapalli and Alphonso with a steady bearing habit. About 400 plants can be accommodated per hectare. Pulp percentage is 73, fibreless, and sweet to taste (20-22 Brix).
Mangeera: Fruits are average sized with light yellow coloured skin, firm and fibreless flesh and sweet to taste. It is a cross between Rumani and Neelam. It is a semi vigorous type with a steady bearing habit.
Arka Puneet: It is a regular and prolific bearing hybrid of the cross between Alphonso and the Banganapalli. Fruits are medium sized (220-250 gm) with attractive skin colour, having red blush. Pulp is free from fibre, pulp percentage being 70 percent. Fruits are sweet to taste (20-22 Brix) with good keeping quality and free from spongy tissue. It is a good variety for processing also.
Ratna: Fruits are medium sized with excellent quality and it is a cross between Neelam and Alphonso. It is free from spongy tissue and a consistent bearer. Surface is firm and fibreless, deep orange in colour with high TSS (19-21 Brix).
Arka Anmol: It is a semi-vigorous plant type from the cross between Alphonso and Janardhan Pasand. It is also a regular bearing and free from spongy tissues. Fruits ripen to uniform yellow colour. Keeping quality of the fruit is very good and it is suitable for export. It has got excellent sugar and acid blend and fruits weigh on an average about 300 g Pulp is orange in colour.
Climatic and soil requirement
Mango thrives well in places with good rainfall and dry summer. It can be cultivated under both tropical and sub-tropical climate, provided there is no high humidity, rain or frost during the flowering period. Areas with winds and hurricanes which may cause flower and fruit shedding and breaking of branches are usually avoided mangoes can be cultivated on soils ranging from alluvial to laterite provided they are deep and well drained. Slightly acidic soils of pH 5.5 to 7.5 is required. Sandy loam to loam soils are most suitable. Soils with hard pans or rocks close to the surface can hinder tap root penetration but long periods of water logging can have adverse effects.
Planting:
Mango is undergo vegetative propagation true to type plants from recognized nurseries should be used. Depending on the agro climatic factors of the region mango can be intercropped with vegetables, legumes, short duration and dwarf fruit crops like papaya, guava, peach, plum. Note that, the water and nutrient requirements of the inter crops must be met separately. Pits are filled with original soil mixed with 20-25 kg well rotten FYM, 2.5 kg single super phosphate and 1 kg muriate of potash.
Management practices
Spacing:
Spacing is based on average tree size which is dependent on variety. It varies from 6 m x 6 m for small sized tress, 8 m x 8 m for medium sized trees and 10 m x 10 m to 12 m x 12 m for large sized trees.
Irrigation practices:
Young plants are watered frequently for proper establishment. In case of grown up trees, irrigation at 10 to 15 days’ interval from fruit set to maturity is beneficial for improving yield. However, irrigation is not recommended for 2-3 months preceding to flowering as it is likely to promote vegetative growth at the expense of flowering.
Plants should be irrigated immediately after planting. In the initial one or two years, it is advisable to provide some shade to the young plants and also stake to make them grow straight.
Pruning:
About one meter from the base on the main trunk should be kept free from branching and the main stem can be allowed thereafter spaced at 20-25 cm apart in such a way that they grow in different directions.
Fertiliser Application:
Fertilizer application is usually on individual plant basis. In two equal splits doses (June-July and October),170 gm urea, 110 gm single super phosphate and 115 gm muriate of potash per plant per year of the age from first to tenth year and thereafter 1.7 kg, 1.1 kg, and 1.15 kg respectively of these fertilisers per plant per year can be applied. Foliar spray of 3% urea is recommended before flowering in sandy areas. Fertilizer placement should be in ring form which increases with the size of the tree and as close to the positions of absorptive roots as possible.
Pest Management:
Mango is prone to damages by a large number of pests, diseases and disorders. However, anthracnose caused by Glomella cingulate and wilt caused by Ceratocystis fimbriata are two major diseases of mango. Listed below are recommended control measurs to be put in place.
Anthracnose: Two sprays of Baristin (0.1%) at fortnight interval.
Powdery mildew: Two to three sprays of wettable sulphur (0.2%) or Kerathane (0.1%) at 10-15 days’ interval.
Malformation: One spray of 200 ppm NAA in October followed by deblossoming at bud burst stage in December – January.
Mealy bug: Ploughing inter spaces in November and dusting 2% methyl parathion @200 g per tree near the trunk and fixing 20 cm wide 400 gauge polythene strips around the trunk with grease applied on the lower edge in January as prophylactic measures and two sprays of monocrotophos (0.04%) at 15 days interval as control are needed.
Fruit drop: Regular irrigation during fruit development, timely and effective control of pests and diseases and spraying 20 ppm NAA at pea size of fruits.
Mango hopper: Two sprays (at panicles emergency and at pea size of fruits) of carbaryl (0.15%), monocrotophos (0.04%) or phosphamidan (0.05).
Harvesting and yield:
Graft plants start bearing at the age of 3 – 4 years (10-20 fruits) to give optimum crop from 10-15th year which continues to increase up to the age of 40 years under good management. Steps involved in post-harvest handling include preparation, grading, washing, drying, waxing, packing, pre-cooling, palletisation and transportation.
Storage:
Shelf life of mangoes being short (2 to 3 weeks) they are cooled as soon as possible to storage temperature of 13oC. A few varieties can withstand storage temperature of 10oC.
Packaging:
Fruits are packed in single layer 8 to 20 fruits per carton. In general, corrugated fibre board boxes 40 cm x 30 cm x 20cm in size are used to pack fruits. The boxes should have sufficient number of air holes (about 8% of the surface area) for better aeration.
