Mango Farming Guide for Beginners:
Mango Farming is the leading fruit crop farming 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.
Mango fruit is utilized at all stages of its development both in its immature and mature state. Raw fruits are used for making chutney, pickles and juices. The ripe fruits besides being used for desert are also utilized for preparing several products like squashes, syrups, nectar, jams and jellies. The mango kernel also contains 8-10 percent good quality fat which can be used for soap and also as a substitute for cola in confectionery.
Mango occupies 22% of the total under fruits comprising of 1.2 million hectares, with a total production of 11 million tonnes. Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh , Telangana are having the largest area under mango each with around 25% of the total area followed by Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Fresh mangoes and mango pulp are the important items of agri exports from India. India’s main export destinations for mango are USA and other Middle East countries with a limited quantity being shipped to European market. Although, India is the largest mango producing country, accounting about 60% of world production, the export of fresh fruit is limited to Alphonso and Dashehari varieties. India’s share in the world mango market is about 15 percent. Mango accounts for 40 percent of the total fruit exports from the country. There is good scope for increasing the area and productivity of mango in the country.
Planting & Planting Material in Mango Farming:
Mango can be propagated from seed or propagated vegetatively. Plants are generally propagated vegetatively by using several techniques like veneer grafting, in arching and epicotyl grafting etc.
Planting Season in Mango Farming:
Planting is usually done in the month of July-August in rainfed areas and during February-March in irrigated areas. In case of heavy rainfall zones, planting is taken up at the end of rainy season.
Spacing in Mango Farming:
The planting distance is 10m. x 10m. and 12m. x 12m. in dry and moist zones respectively. In the model scheme, a spacing of 8 meter x 8meter with a population of 63 plants per acre has been considered which was observed to be common in areas covered during a field study.
Training of Plants in Mango Farming:
Training of plants as part of Mango Farming in the initial stages of growth is very important to give them a proper shape specially in cases where the graft has branched too low
Mango Farming Nutrition:
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) in Mango Farming :
| Age of the plant(in years) | Fertilizer applied |
| 1* | 100g. N, 50g. P2O5, 100g. K2O |
| 10 | 1kg. N, 500g. P2O5, 1kg. K2O |
| 11 | same as above |
*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.
Irrigation or Watering in Mango Farming :
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 prior to flowering as it is likely to promote vegetative growth at the expense of flowering.
Inter cropping in Mango Farming:
Inter crops such as vegetables, legumes, short duration and dwarf fruit crops like papaya, guava, peach, plum, etc. depending on the agro-climatic factors of the region can be grown. The water and nutrient requirements of the inter crops must be met separately.
Harvesting and Yield of Mango Crop:
The yield of mango varies greatly, depending upon the variety and agro-climatic conditions prevailing in a region.
Grafted mango trees start bearing from the fifth year onward. However, seedling trees may take 8-10 years.
At the start of bearing at the age of 3 – 4 years the yield may be as low as 10-20 fruits (2-3 kg) per tree, rising to 50-75 fruits (10-15 kg) in the subsequent years, and to about 500 fruits (100 kg) in its tenth year. In the age group-20- 40 years, a tree bears 1,000-3,000 fruits (200-600 kg) in an ”on” year. The productive age of a grafted mango tree is usually 40-50 years, after which the yield declines.
Post Harvest Management in Mango Farming:
Storage:
Shelf life of mangoes being short (2 to 3 weeks) they are cooled as soon as possible to storage temperature of 13 degree Celsius. A few varieties can withstand storage temperature of 10 degree Celsius. Steps involved in post harvest handling include preparation, grading, washing, drying, waxing, packing, pre-cooling, palletisation and transportation.
Packaging:
Mangoes are generally packed in corrugated fiber board boxes 40 cm x 30 cm x 20 cm in size. Fruits are packed in single layer 8 to 20 fruits per carton. The boxes should have sufficient number of air holes (about 8% of the surface area) to allow good ventilation.
Financial institutions have also formulated mango financing schemes in potential areas for expansion of area under mango. Individual mango development schemes with farm infrastructure facilities like well, pump set, fencing and drip irrigation system etc. have also been considered.
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Read: MANGO FARMING PROJECT REPORT.
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