Course: B.Sc. Agriculture

Subject: Principles of Horticulture

Unit :4

Cultivation practices of Mango

Botanical description

Common Name : Mango

Botanical Name : Mangifera indica L.

Family : Anacardiaceae

Origin : Indo-Burma region

Genus : Mangifera

Species : indica

Chromosome No.: 2n= 40 (Amphidiploid)

Pollination Type : Cross

Area and Production

It is national fruit of India.India ranks First in the area and production of

Mango fruit in the world.

In India, Mango is grown in 2.3 million hac. Area with a production of 15.2

MT with an average productivity of 6.6 MT/hac. (in 2010-2011) source NHB.

It is leading fruit crop of India and considered to be the king of fruits. In

India it has been grown for over 400 years. India shares about 56% of total

mango production in the world.

Mongo occupies 22% of the total under fruits in india.

Uttar Pradesh and AP. Are having the largest area under mango each with

around 25% of the total area followed by Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala and

Tamilnadu.

It is also grown in Pakisthan, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaya, Philipines,

Srilanka, Egypt, Africa, Florida, Hawaii, Brazil, Mexico, etc.

North East India is the native place of many Mango species.

Area in Gujarat- 34099 hectares. Growing districts are Valsad , followed by

Junagadh, Surat, Bhavnagar, Kheda, Amreli, Bharuch, Sabarkantha, and

khtch.

Popular varieties of mango in different regions

Region Varieties

Eastern Himsagar, Fazli, Langra, Bombay

Western Alphonso, Pairi, Rajapuri, Kesar

Northern Dashehari, Langra, Bombay Green,

Chausa

Southern

Neelum, Banganapalli, Totapuri,

Mulgoa, Raspuri, Swarnarekha,

Rumani, Badami

VARIETIES

• About 30 varieties are commercially grown in India and about 95 per cent of the total production is

contributed by states, like U.P., A.P., Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, T.N., Gujarat, Gao, Kerala, W.B. and

Orissa.

Commercial mango varieties grown in different states

States Varieties

Andhra Pradesh Banganapalli, Suvarnarekha, Neelum and Totapuri

Bihar Bombay Green, Chausa, Dashehari, Fazli, Gulabkhas,

Kishen Bhog, Himsagar, Zardalu and Langra

Gujarat Kesar, Alphonso, Rajapuri, Jamadar, Totapuri, Neelum,

Dashehari and Langra

Haryana Chausa, Dashehari, Langra and Fazli

H.P. Chausa, Dashehari and Langra I

Karnataka Alphonso, Totapuri, Banganapalli, Pairi, Neelum and Mulgoa

Madhya Pradesh Alphonso, Bombay Green, Dashehari, Fazli, Langra and Neelum

Maharashtra Alphonso, Kesar and Pairi

Punjab Chausa, Dashehari and Malda

Rajasthan Bombay Green, Chausa, Dashehari and Langra

Tamil Nadu Alphonso, Totapuri, Banganapalli and Neelum

Uttar Pradesh Bombay Green, Chausa, Dashehari and Langra

West Bengal Fazli, Gulabkhas, Himsagar, Kishenbhog, langra and

Bombay Green

Centre Hybrids Parents Characteristics

IARI New

Delhi

Amrapali Dashehari x

Neelum

Drawf,regular bearer, medium size

fruits, high ß-carotene content

Mallika Neelum x

Dashehari

Semi vigouous, regularbearer, fruits

large,high b- carotene content, better

quality content.

IIHR

Bangalore

Arka Aruna Beganpalli x

Alphanso

Dwarf, precocious medium and regular

bearer, fruits large, fibreless, good

flavour, free from spongy tissue.

Arka Anmol Alphanso x

Janardhan

Semi-vigourous, regular bearer, fruit

medium, free from spongy tissue.

Arka

Neelkiran

Alphanso x

Neelum

Semivigourous, late, fruits medium

Arka Puneet Alphanso x

Baganpalli

Semivigourous, heavy and regular

bearer

Centre Hybrids Parents Characteristics

RFRS, Paria,

GujaratNeeleshan

Neelum x

Baneshan

Dwarf, regular good bearer fruits

medium to large

NeeleshwariNeelum x

DashehariDwarf, regular bearer

NeelphansoNeelum x

AlphansoDwarf, fruits medium

SonpariAlphanso x

Baneshan

Maharashtra RatnaNeelum x

AlphansoModerately, vigourous tree

SindhuRatna x

Alphanso

High yielding, regular bearer, deep

orange colour,good qulity and free from

spongy tissue.

Characteristics of Important Indian varieties

Alphonso• This is the leading commercial variety of

Maharashtra state and one of the choicest varieties of the country.

• This variety is known by different names in different regions, viz. Badami, Gundu, Khader, Appas, Happus and Kagdi Happus.

• Size of fruit -medium • Shape -ovate oblique • Colour- orange yellow • The fruit quality is excellent and keeping

quality is good. • It has been found good for canning

purpose. • It is a mid season variety

Bangalora

• It is a commercial variety of south India

• Fruit size- medium to large

• Shape- oblong with necked base

• Colour- golden yellow

• Fruit quality- poor

• Keeping quality is very good

• It is widely used for processing

• It is a mid season variety

Banganpalli

It is a commercial variety of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and also known as Chapta, Safeda, Baneshan and Chaptai.

Fruit size- large

Fruit shape- obliquely oval

Colour- golden yellow

Fruit quality and keeping quality are good.

It is a mid season variety and is good for canning.

Bombay Green

• It is commonly grown in north India due to its early ripening habit.

• It is also called Malda in Northern India.

• Fruit size- medium

• Shape- ovate oblong

• Fruit colour- spinach green

• Fruit quality is good and keeping quality is medium

• It is a very early variety

Dashehari

• This variety derives its name from the village Dashehari near Lucknow.

• It is a leading commercial variety of north India and one of the best varieties of our country.

• Fruit size- medium

• Shape- oblong to oblong oblique

• Colour- yellow

• Fruit quality is excellent keeping quality is good.

• It is a mid season variety

• Mainly used for table purpose

Himsagar

• This variety is indigenous to Bengal

• This is one of the choicest varieties of Bengal and has gained extensive popularity.

• Fruit size- medium

• Shape- ovate to ovate oblique

• Fruit colour- yellow

• Both fruit and keeping quality are good

• It is an early variety.

Kesar• This is a leading variety of

Gujarat with a red blush on the shoulders

• Fruit size- medium

• Shape- oblong

• Keeping quality is good

• It is an early variety.

Langra

• This variety is indigenous to Varanasi area of Uttar Pradesh

• It is extensively grown in northern India

• Fruit size- medium

• Shape- ovate

• Colour- lettuce green

• Fruit quality is good

• Keeping quality is medium

• It is a mid season variety

Neelum

• This is a commercial variety indigenous to Tamil Nadu.

• It is an ideal variety for transporting to distant places owing to its high keeping quality.

• Fruit size- medium

• Shape- ovate oblique

• Colour- saffron yellow

• Keeping quality is very good

• It is a late season variety

Chausa

• This variety originated as a chance seedling in the orchard of a Talukadar of Sandiladistrict Hardoi, U.P.

• It is commonly grown in northern parts of India due to its characteristic flavour and taste.

• Fruit size- large• Shape- ovate to oval oblique• Colour- light yellow • Fruit quality is good keeping

quality is medium. • It is a late variety.

Hybrid Varieties

• This hybrid is from a cross of Dashehari x Neelum.

• It is dwarf, regular bearing and late maturing variety.

• The variety is suitable for high density planting as about 1600 plants may be planted in a hectare.

• It yields on an average 16 tonnes / hectare.

Amarapali

Mallika

• It is from a cross of Neelum x Dashehari

• Fruit size- large

• Shape- oblong elliptical

• Colour- cadmium yellow

• Fruit and keeping quality are good

• It is a mid season variety

Arka Aruna

• It is a hybrid between Baganpalli and Alphonso.

• It is dwarf and regular bearing.

• Fruits are large having attractive skin colour with red blush

• Free from spongy tissue

Arka Puneet

• It is a hybrid between Alphonso and Banganpalli.

• It regular and prolific bearer.

• Fruits size- medium having attractive skin colour with red blush

• Free from spongy tissue.

• Excellent keeping quality.

Ratna

• This hybrid is from a cross of Neelum x Alphonso.

• Tree vigorous, precautions

• Fruits are medium sized, attractive in colour

• Free from spongy tissue.

Sindhu

• It is from a cross of Ratna x Alphonso.

• It is regular bearer

• fruits size- medium

• Free from spongy tissue

• High pulp to stone ratio and very thin and small stone.

Soil and climate

Ideal soil for mango is red loamy. Good drainage is

preferable for better establishment. Ideal pH range is

from 6.5 to 8.0.

Season of planting

Planting spreads from July to December.

PROPAGATION

Sexual Propagation:

• Seed

Vegetative Propagation:

• Inarching / approach grafting

• Veneer grafting

• Stone Epicotyl

grafting

• Soft-wood grafting

• Budding

• Air layering

PLANTING

• Time of planting- during the monsoon when there is sufficient moisture in

the atmosphere (July to December).

• Planting distance- The planting distance varies according to variety, the

fertility level of the soil and general growth conditions in the area.

Where the growth is excessive, the distance should be 12 x 12 m, but

in the dry zones where the growth is less, it can be regulated to about 10 x

10 m.

For high density planting, the distance can be 5 x 3 or 5 x 2.5 or 3 x

2.5 or 2.5 x 2.5 m.

• Size of pits- In locations where the soil is loamy and deep, pits of 0.5 x

0.5 x 0.5 m be dug at desired distances. However, in shallow and hill

soils, the pits should at last be of 1 x 1 x 1 m size.

• Filling of pits- The pits should be filled with the original soil mixed with

50 kg well rotten FYM. In the top two-third portion, the proportion of the

manure and soil may be kept as 1:3. If the soil is having infestation of

white ants, 200-250 g of aldrex or BHC dust may also be mixed.

Training and pruning

The training of the plants in theinitial stages is very essentialto give them proper shape.

Rootstock sprouts and lowlying branches (at least 75 cmof the main stem ) have to beremoved.

Remove overlapping,intercrossing, diseased, driedand weak branches in old treesto get good sunlight andaeration.

For the internal branches,pruning may be done duringAugust – September, once inthree years.

Flowering should not beallowed up to three years.

FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS

• Fertilizers may be applied in two split doses , one half immediately after the harvesting of fruits in June/July and the other half in October, in both young and old orchards followed by irrigation if there are no rains. Foliar application of 3 % urea in sandy soils is recommended before flowering.

•

• The following table gives the details of fertilizer applied (depending upon the age of the plants) :

*The doses applied in the subsequent years should be increased every year upto 10 years in the multiple of the first year’s dose.

• Well decomposed farm-yard manure may be applied every year. For trench application of fertilizers, 400g. each of N and K2O and 200g. of P2O5 per plant should be provided. Micro-nutrients may be applied as per the requirement in the form of foliar sprays.

Age of plants (in year)1*1011

Fertilizer applied100g N, 50g P, 100g K.1kg N, 500g P, 1kg Kdo

IRRIGATION

• Amount and frequency of irrigation depends upon the type of soil, prevailing

climatic conditions.

• No irrigation is required during the monsoon months unless there are long

spells of drought.

• During the first year when the plants are very young with shallow root

system, they should be watered every 2-3 days in the dry season.

• Trees in the age group of 2-5 years should be irrigated at 4-5 days interval.

• The irrigation interval could be increased to 10-15 days for 5-8 years old

plants during dry season.

• When trees are in full bearing stage, generally 2-3 irrigations are given after

the fruit set.

• Profuse irrigation during 2-3 months proceeding the flowering season is not

advisable. Irrigation should be given at 50 per cent field capacity.

• Generally, intercrops are grown during the early years of plantation and

hence frequency and method of irrigation has to be adjusted accordingly.

• It is advisable to irrigate the mango plants in basins around them which can

be connected in series or to the irrigation channel in the centre of rows.

INTERCROPPING

• It is always advisable to avoid tall growing exhaustive crops like maize, sugarcane, bajara, etc.

• Some fertility restoring crops like legumes and leguminous cover crops should be included into the intercropping patterns. The partial shade loving crops like pineapple, ginger, turmeric, etc. can be grown in fully grown orchards.

• In addition to field crops, some short duration, less exhaustive and dwarf type inter-fillers like papaya, guava, peach, plum, etc. can also be grown till these do not interfere with the main mango crop.

• Leguminous crops of like green gram, black gram, gram; etc., cerealslike wheat; oilseeds like mustard, sesame and groundnut and vegetablescrops such as cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, potato, brinjal, cucumber, pumpkin, bitter gourd, lady’s finger, etc. and spices like chillies can be successfully grown as intercrops.

DISEASES

• The characteristic symptom of the disease is the white superficial powdery fungal growth on leaves, stalks of panicles, flowers and young fruits. The affected flowers and fruits drop before attaining pea size.

• Control : Following three sprays of fungicides at 15 days interval recommended for effective control of the disease :

Wettable sulphur 0.2 per cent (2 g Sulfex / lit. water).

Tridemorph 0.1 per cent

( 1 ml Calixin / lit. water).

Dinocap 0.1 per cent

(1 ml / g Karathane / lit. water).

Powdery mildew (Oidium mangiferae )

Anthracnose

• The disease causes serious losses to young shoots, flowers and fruits under favourable climatic conditions of high humidity, frequent rains and a temperature of 24-32oC.

• The disease produces leaf spot, blossom blight, wither tip, twig blight and fruit rot symptoms.

• Cause ‘die back’ of young branches.

• Severe infection destroys the entire inflorescence resulting in no setting of fruits.

• Control: Trees may be sprayed twice with Bavistin (0.1%) at 15 days interval during flowering to control blossom infection. Spraying of copper fungicides (0.3%) is recommended for the control of foliar infection.

Die back (Botryodiplodia theobromae)

• The disease on the tree may be noticed at any time of the year but it ismost conspicuous during Oct.-Nov.

• The disease is characterized by drying of twigs and branches followedby complete defoliation, which gives the tree an appearance ofscorching by fire.

• The areas of cambium and phloem show brown discolouration andyellow gum like substance is found in some of the cells.

• Control :

(i) Prune the diseased twigs and spray with copper oxychloride (0.3%)on infected trees. Pruning should be done in such a way that the twigsare removed 2-3 inches below the affected portion.

(ii) In small plants, pruning of twigs is followed by pasting of copperoxychloride.

PESTS• Control

a) Chemical : Three sprays of 0.15%

Carbaryl or 0.05% Phosphomidon or

0.05% Methyl Parathion have been

found very useful in controlling the

pest population.

First spray should be given at the early stage of panicle formation.

The second spray at full length stage of panicles but before full bloom

The third spray after the fruits are set and have attained pea stage are

recommended.b) Biological : Biological control agents such as the predators Malladaboninensis and Chrysopa lacciperda, the egg parasite Polynema sp. and a preparation of the fungus Beauveria bassiana are the important useful bio agents to control this pest.

HOPPER

Mealy Bug

Control(i) Mechanical : Polythene (400 gauge) bands of 25 cm width fastened around the tree trunkhave been found effective barrier to stop the ascent of nymphs to the trees. The band should be fastened well in advance before the hatching of eggs, i.e., around November - December.(ii) Chemical : Application of 250 g per tree of Methyl Parathion dust 2% or Aldrin dust 10% in the soil around the trunk kills the newly hatched nymphs which come in contact with the chemical.

Spraying of 0.05% Monocrotophos or 0.2% Carbaryl or 0.05% Methyl Parathion have been found useful in controlling early instar nymphs of the mealy bug.(iii) Biological : Menochilus sexmaculatus, Rodolia fumida and Sumniusrenardi are important predators in controlling the nymphs. The entomogenousfungus Beauveria bassiana is found to be an effective bio agent in controlling the nymphs of the mealy bug.

Fruit Fly

Control

Chemical : The adult fruit flies

can be controlled by bait sprays

of carbaryl (0.2%) + protein hydrolysate

(0.1%) or molasses starting at pre-

oviposition stage (first week of April),

repeated once after 21 days. Another method to control these flies is tohang traps containing a 100 ml water emulsion of methyl eugenol(0.1%) + Malathion (0.1%) during fruiting (April to June). About 10such traps are sufficient for one hectare of orchard.

Red rust

Symptoms

• Rusty spots appear on leaves, initially as circular, slightly elevated, coalesce to form irregular spots.

• The spores mature fall off and leave cream to white valvettexture on the surface of the leaves

Control

Bordeaux mixture (1%), or Copper oxychloride 0.25%

• Shoot borer

• Bark-eating

caterpillar

• Stem borer

• Shoot gall psylla

• Leaf webber

• Stone weevil

Physiological Disorders

Malformation is widely prevalent in northern India, particularly in the states of Punjab, Delhi and western U.P. where more than 50% of the trees suffer from this malady.

Causes: The complexity of the disorder is attributed cultural practices, nutritional, to many factors like, mites, fungal, viral, hormonal imbalance etc.

Symptoms

Three types of symptoms: bunchy top phase, floral malformation and vegetative malformation.

In bunchy top phase in nursery bunching of thickened small shoots, bearing small

rudimentally leaves. Shoots remain short and stunted giving a bunchy top appearance.

In vegetative malformation, excessive vegetative branches of limited growth in seedlings.

They are swollen with short internodes forming bunches of various size and the top of the seedlings shows bunchy top appearance.

In malformation of inflorescence remain unproductive and are characterised by a compact

mass of male flowers, greenish in colour and stunted in growth.

Secondary branches are transformed into number of small leaves giving a witches broom appearance.

Mango malformation

Control measures

The exact cause and control of the malady is yet to be established.

Use of disease free planting material.

Diseased plants should be destroyed.

Incidence reduced by spraying 100-200ppm NAA during October.

Pruning of diseased parts with the basal 15-20 cm apparently healthy portions.

Followed by the spraying of Carbendazim (0.1%).

Alternate Bearing or Biennial Bearing

• Factors:

– Environmental factors

– Age and Size of shoot

– Crop load

– Hormonal control

– C : N ratio

– Varietal influence

Refers to heavy fruiting in one years (ON YEAR) followed by less or no fruitingin the following year (OFF YEAR).

Control Measures:

Deblossming and thinning of fruit

Smuding

Use of Plant growth regulator

Pruning

Application of KNO3

Growing regular bearing varieties

Fruit Drop

Despite high fruit set initially, the ultimate retention is quite low in mango. The intensity of fruit drop, varies from variety to variety.

The fruit drop is more or less a continuous process and can be classified into three groups : (i) Pinhead drop, (ii) Post-setting drop and (iii) May-month drop.

The fruit drop in first two groups are insignificant compared to the third group which affects the final yield significantly and needs more attention.

Major factors: Embryo abortion, climatic factors, disturbed water relation, lack of nutrition, disease, pest and hormonal imbalances.

Control: The foliar application of Alary (B-nine) @ 100 ppm or NAA 20 ppmat pea stage.

Among the commercially grown varieties, Langra is more susceptible to drop

while Dashehari is the least.

Maturity

Fruits generally require 95 to 115 days mature after flowering

Building of shoulders and a slight depression near the stalk ‘end’

Colour changes from dark green to pale green

Red blush develop on the fruits shoulders

When one or two ripe fruits fall from the plant naturally

When the specific gravity of fruits ranges between 1.01 to 2.0

Flesh Firmness vs Ripeness Stage of Mangos

Ripeness stage Flesh firmness (lb-force with 5/16 inch tip

penetrometer)

Notes

Mature-green >14 Treat with ethylene for 48 hours

Partially-ripe 10-14 Treat with ethylene for 24 hours

Firm-ripe 6-10 Best stage to send to retail stores

Soft-ripe 2-6 Best stage for eating

Over-ripe <2 Good for juice

Harvesting

The harvesting in mango should be done in the morning hours and fruits should be collected in plastic trays and kept in shades.

The fruits should not be allowed to fall on the ground as the injured fruits cause spoilage to other healthy fruits during packaging and storage.

Fruits harvested with 8-10 mm long stalks appear better on ripening as undesired spots on skin caused by sap burn are prevented.

Fruits harvested by stick are injured / bruised due to impact resulting in decay, poor quality and attract low price. Traditional methods consume a lot of energy.

To overcome these problems, a simple, low cost and portable mango harvesting device has been designed and developed at CISH, Lucknow.

This saves time and protects fruits from mechanical damage due to impact.

YIELD: In mango yield is varies with the variety. The average mango yield is 8 tonnes/hec. Which varies with the region. Andhra and Bihar are highly productive with this respect. HDP increase yield of mango.

Grading

If the fruits are graded according to their size, weight, colour and maturity, both the producer and consumer are benefited.

It has been observed that bigger size fruits take 2-4 days more time in ripening than smaller ones .

Hence, packaging of smaller fruits with larger ones should be avoided to achieve uniform ripening.

Immature, overripe, damaged and diseased fruits should be discarded.

The export quality mangoes are categorised into three grades according to the fruit weight viz., Category-I (200-250 g), Category-II (251-300 g) and Category-III (300-350 g).

Storage

• The mature green fruits can be kept at room temperature for about 4-10 days depending upon the variety.

• Shelf life of fruits could be extended by pre-cooling, chemical treatments, low temperature, etc.

• The harvested fruits are pre-cooled to 10-12oC and then stored at an appropriate temperature.

• The fruits could be stored for 3-4 weeks in good condition at low temperature.

• The problem of chilling injury at low temperature can be overcome by keeping the fruits in 0.5% ventilated polythene bags.

• The fruits of Dashehari, Mallika and Amrapali should be stored at 12oC, Langra at 14oC and Chausa at 8oC with 85-90% RH.

Web References:

1. nhb.gov.in/report_files/mango/MANGO.htm

2. skuast.org/site/Templates%20HTML/extension/package.pdf

3. agritech.tnau.ac.in/horticulture/horti_fruits_mango.html

4. www.agriinfo.in