Fruits and vegetables are considered to be the protective food because these help to develop defense mechanism in human beings. And because they contain adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals, and high quality proteins, they protect us against development of many deficiency diseases. Mango, the king of fruits, which is also our national fruit has much to signify in this manner.
India bags the number one position in Mango production and more than 50 percent of world mango is produced here in India but unfortunately its production is declining over the years. India covers an area of 2.1mha under mango, with the production of about 13 mt and the productivity of 5.5 t/ha. But certain limitations has forced the production of mango to decline.
In the traditional manner, where the cultivation density is lower, per ha cover of plants in a mango orchard ranges from 75-100. Under such conditions, mango trees become very big which makes it difficult to perform the needed cultural operations like training, pruning, disease, pest control etc. As a result, alternate bearing i.e. failure of flowering of mango in every season is observed, which is one of the major problems in mango cultivation throughout the globe due to deficiency of nutrients supply to the mango bearer.
Now, the question arises, how to make the odds better? One of the important means of enhancing mango productivity is efficient use of plant nutrients. The mango orchards are to be cleaned and the space between two rows should be plowed down. For the proper management of nutrients to the mango trees a ring has to be formed around the trunk of the tree from where the nutrients/fertilizers would be supplied.
Application of Major Nutrient & Farm Yard Manure(FYM)
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About 50 of FYM has to be applied in the ring and well mixed with the soil. In addition, 2.5 kg of urea, 2 kg of single super phosphat (SSP) and 1.5 kg of Muriate of Potash (MOP) has to be mixed well and 50 percent of this has to be applied in the ring and watered properly. And the rest has to be applied during flowering stage. About 500 gms urea may be applied at the harvest of the crop.
Micro- nutrients required :
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It has been observed that the application of micro-nutrients mainly zinc, copper and boron gives better results in controlling the fruit dropping and improving flowering and the quality of fruits. 50 gm zinc sulphate, 50 gm copper sulphate and 20 gm borax per tree/annum are recommended.
A well managed mango orchard may produce a yield of about 10 t/ha. Adequate amount of fertilizer and manures are the most prominent factor to get high yield of mango.
