Cultivation Practices of Mango

 

               MANGO

 Scientific name: Mangifera indica L

Family: Anacardiaceae.

Origin: Indo Burma region

Chromosome No. 40

 

Introduction: Mango is the most important among the tropical fruits of India and it is very popular and considered to be the choicest of all fruits grown in India. It is known as the, “king of fruits”, owing to delicious quality of fruit, richness in vitamins and minerals and liking to Indian palate. It is also one of the best fruits of the world. Mango occupies the pride place in India as apple in temperate and grapes in sub-tropical regions of the world. Mango thus deserves to be ―the national fruit of India.

Ripe mango is exceedingly refreshing to eat and is an excellent source of Vitamin-A and C. The immature and green fruit is used in various ways in curries, pickles and chutneys. Ripe mango slices and pulp can be preserved and canned for use when the fresh fruit is out of season.

Area & production:

Out of 63 mango-producing countries all over the world, India grows it to the maximum, contributing about 12 million tonnes, roughly 50% of the world production of 23 million tonnes. In India it is cultivated in an area of 12.3 lakh hectares occupying 39% of the total area under fruits in India and with a production of about 11 million tonnes constituting about 23% of total production of fruits. The area in AP is about 3.4 lakh hectares with a production of about 24 lakh tones. In Odisha 1 lakh hectare area with production 4 lakh MT. The important mango growing districts in AP are Krishna, W. Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, E. Godavari, Vijayanagar, Srikakulam, Chittoor, Kadapa and Khammam districts. In AP maximum area is in East Godavari followed by Khammam and Chittoor districts.

Mango varieties: There are nearly 1000 mango varieties in India. Of these, however only about 20 varieties are grown on a commercial scale. The commercial varieties of mango in India are specific to different regions of the country.

 

The important commercial varieties of mangoes

Bihar	Bombay Green, Chausa, Dashehari, Fazli, Gulabkhas, Kishen Bhog, Himsagar, Zardalu and Langra
Andhra Pradesh	Banganapalli, Suvarnarekha, Neelum and Totapuri
Gujarat	Kesar, Alphonso, Rajapuri, Jamadar, Totapuri, Neelum, Dashehari and Langra
Haryana	Chausa, Dashehari, Langra and Fazli
Himachal Pradesh	Chausa, Dashehari and Langra
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

 

Hybrid varieties: Attempts are being made to obtain varieties with maximum desirable characters. For this purpose some hybrids were developed in different research stations, Salient characteristics of the important mango hybrids are-

Mango Hybrids and their charcters

Hybrid	Parents	Distinguishing characters
Fruit Research Satation,Anantharajupet-Kadapa District
Neeleshan	Neelum X Baneshan.	Late maturing and Good quality.
Neelgoa	Neelum X Yerra Mulgoa	Regular bearing,high yielding‘ good keeping quality and late maturing
Swarna Jahangir	Chinna suvarnarekha X Jahangir.	Medium yielder, fruits are attractive in colour,good transporting quality and late maturing
Fruit Research Satation,Sangareddy,Medak District
Manjeera	Rumani X Neelum	Precocious, regular bearer& heavy yielder
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore
Arka Aruna	Banganapalli X Alphonso	Dwarf, regular, prolific & medium bearer. Free from fibre and spongy tissue.
Arka Puneet	Alphonso X Banganapalli	Regular and prolific bearer. Free from spongy tissue with good Keeping quality.Suitable for table &processing.
Arka Anmol	Alphonso X Janardhanpasand	Regular & prolific bearer. Fibreless , free from spongy tissue &keeping quality
Arka Neelkiran	Alphonso X Neelum	Ideal for high density planting. Regular bearer with very good Keeping and late season.
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
Amrapali	Dashehari X Nellum	Regular& late bearing. Very dwarf suitable for high density planting
Mallika	Neelum X Dashehari	Regular bearer, midseason variety &resistant to fruit drop.
Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurla
Ratna (Neelphonso)	Neelum X Alphonso	Semi-dwarf, regular in bearing, good keeping quality. Fruits are free from spongy tissue.
Sindhu	Back cross progeny of Ratna (RatnaX Alphonso)	Stone is extremely thin( seedless mango), regular in bearing, free from spongy tissue & fibreless
Agricultural Research Institute, Sabour, UP.
Prabhasankar	Bombay X kalaepad	Semi dwarf, regular in bearer, fruit is of good keeping quality. Strong tendency to bear fruits in adverse weather conditions.

 

Depending on utility:

ü Table varieties: Baneshan, Neelum, Bangalora, Rumani, Alphonso, Mahamooda and Goa bunder.

ü Juicy varieties: Chinna rasam, Pedda rasam, Cheruku rasam, Kothapalli kobbari, Panchadara kalasa. Panakalu, Phirangi laddu.

ü Table and juicy varieties: Chinna suvarnarekha , Peter.

ü Off-season Varieties: Neelum, Bangalora, Baramasi, Rumani,Royal special.

ü Pickle varieties: Achar pasand, Tellagulabi of Nuzivid, Alipasand, Guddemar (Hamlet)

ü Varieties for preservation: Baneshan and Bangalora. Mango varieties can be divided into different groups-

Depending on time of availability:

ü    Early Varieties: Olour, Rajpuri, Ronnet Alphonso,Suvarnarekha, Panakalu.

ü    Mid-season varieties: Baneshan, Panchadarakalasa, Mallika, Chinna rasam, Kothapalli kobbari, Peddarasam etc.

ü     Late varieties: Mulgoa, Jalalsaheb, Amrapali, Janardhanpasand ,Neelum and Bangalora etc.

ü     Off-Season Varieties: Rumani, Neelum, Baramasi, Sadabahar, Bangalora, Royal special. etc.

Poly embryonic varieties: When seed of polyembryonic mango variety is sown several seedlings will arise. Only one of those is sexual and the others are nucellar seedlings, which develops from the cells of nucellus. The nucellar seedlings behave exactly like the female parent and are comparable to vegetatively propagated plants. The polyembryonic varieties of India are unfortunately poor in quality. Their only use is as rootstock for other superior varieties. The uniformity of such rootstocks would help in standardizing the performance of scion trees and eliminate the variability inherent in monoembryonic rootstocks of unknown origin.

v Polyembryonic varieties of India: Bappakai, Chandrakaran, Bellary, Goa, Kurukkan, Nileswar dwarf. Olour, Pahutan, Salem, Mazagoaon, Mylepalium and vellaikolumban. —These are common in west coast i.e., Malabar region in west coast. Polyembryonic varieties introduced from other countries in to India:Apricot, Simmonds, Higgins, Pico, Sabre, Saigon, Strawberry, Cambodiana, Turpentine and Carabao.

Climate:

Although, it is a tropical fruit, the mango equally grows well in frost free subtropical region. Mango can grow from sea level to an altitude of about 1500 meters provided; there is no high humidity, rain or frost during the flowering period. However it cannot be grown on a commercial scale in areas above 600 m. The temperature between 24 and 27⁰C is ideal for its cultivation.  Higher the temperature during fruit development and maturity gives better quality fruits. Thus it can be grown best in regions with a rainfall between 25cm and 250cm. Regions having bright sunny days and moderate humidity during flowering are ideal for mango growing.

Soils:

Mango can be grown on a wide variety of soils, ranging from alluvial to lateritic, provided it is deep (2.0-2.5m) and well drained. Suitable pH for mango is 5.5-7.0. A soil with good drainage ,permeability, a fair water holding capacity and ground water at a depth 0f 3-4m are features of an ideal soil for mango. Very poor, shallow, alkaline, rocky and calcareous soil should be avoided.

Propagation:

Mango is a highly heterozygous and cross pollinated crop. There are two types i.e. Monoembryonic and Polyembryonic.

Polyembryonic varieties can be propagated through seed because they produce true to type seedlings where as the monoembryonic varieties need to be propagated vegetatively.

Inarching or approach grafting is the principal method of propagation followed by veneer grafting. Cuttings do not root successfully in open. The method most commonly used in this country is therefore, inarching because of its high percentage of success.

Veneer grafting: This is also a kind of side grafting with slight modification. It is used widely for grafting small potted plants and insitu grafting.

Procedure: On the stock plant, at the desired height, in the internodal region, give a shallow inward cut running to a length of about 2.5 to 5cm. At the base of the first cut make another short and inward cut intersecting the first cut and remove a piece of wood and bark. On the scion , towards the base, give a long (2.5-5.0cm), slanting cut towards one side and another short, inward and downward cut on the opposite side. The cuts given on stock and scion should be of same dimensions, so that, the cambium layers can be matched as closely as possible. Insert the scion on to the rootstock such that a contact of cambium is established at least on one side and tie them firmly. After the union has healed, cut back the stock above the graft union either on gradual steps or all at once

Root Stock:

Kurukkan :	Salt resistant and Polyembryonic.
Olour :	Vigorous rootstock
Rumani, Kalepad & Vellaikolamban:	Dwarfing.
Moovandan and Nekkare :	Salt tolerant.
Pulima :	Prolific rootstock

 

Planting:

Planting should be done during rainy season in pits of size 1m³. Different systems of planting like square, rectangular and hexagonal are followed but square system is most popular. In in-situ grafting, rootstocks are planted in the field and soft wood grafting is done in the following year during August – September. Normally spacing adopted for grafts is 10 X 10 m and for seedlings and in very fertile soils it is 12 X 12m. For dwarf varieties high density planting is considered. The spacing adopted under high density planting is 5X3 / 5X2.5 / 4x4 / 3x2.5/ 2.5x2.5m.

Inter crops and Interculture:

Vegetables like bhendi, cowpea, potato, cucurbits and leguminous crops like groundnut and bean, dwarf banana and cover crops like sesbania and Crotalaria juncea can be raised and buried in the soil for green manuring.

Often young plants produce flowers. These are pinched of during first 3-4 years. Otherwise the vigour of the plant is lost. Removal of weeds is required at least twice a year. Mango requires no pruning except removal of dead, diseased and dried parts and branches arising within 3 feet above the ground level. This will help in easy cultivation.

Irrigation:

So far, the water requirements of mango have not been worked out. The water requirements mainly depends on the age, soil type and climate. However young plants up to 2 years of age should be watered daily The newly planted plants require about 30 litres of water every week. Bearing plants are often given irrigation but irrigation from flowering to harvest time reduces fruit drop and produces larger fruits. Irrigation should be stopped at least before flowering to induce flowering. It is better to avoid irrigations before harvesting for better quality of the fruit. Basin system of irrigation is generally followed to economize water. The basins may be connected in series or to a channel dug in-between rows.

Manuring:

Mango orchards are not generally manured. But if manured, the yield will be more. The chief requirements during pre-bearing age are rapid growth and the development of strong framework. Good cropping, regular bearing and high fruit quality are the prime objectives of bearing trees.

For non-bearing trees liberal doses of Nitrogen, phosphorous and reasonable amounts of potassium are to be applied. During non-bearing stage nitrogen is particularly needed in heavy quantities to support healthy and fast growth. Phosphorous is needed for the development of roots, respiration and translocation of carbohydrates. Application of potassium will help in development of fruit, increases fruit quality and control of fruit drop.

Manurial schedule:

Age of the plant	FYM (Kg)	Nitrogen (grams/plant)	Phosphorous (grams/plant)	Potash (grams/plant)
1-3 years	5-20	50-100	40-80	100-200
4-6 years	25-50	100-200	80-100	200-400
7-9 years	60-90	200-250	120-160	400-600
10 years and above	100	250	160	600

 

The manures and fertilizers are applied in a shallow ring dug around the base of the tree in young orchards. In old bearing orchards, they are broadcasted under the canopy of the plant leaving 30-60 cm from the trunk and thoroughly mixed into the soil. In grown up orchards there is a prevalence of different timings of fertilizers application in various regions of the country depending upon the intensity and period of rainfall, fruiting period, periods of vegetative flushes, irrigation facilities etc.,. In A.P. the manures and fertilizers are applied in two split doses. First dose is given during June-July, consisting of complete Nitrogen with half potash at the onset of monsoon. The second dose is applied during September-October with FYM, super phosphate and remaining half of potash.

Training:

The training of mango plants in the initial stages is very essential to give them proper shape. At least 75cm of the main stem should be kept free from branching and the first leader of main branch should be allowed after that. The main branches should be spaced in such a way that they grow in different directions and are at least 20-25cm apart. Otherwise there is every chance of breakage due to smaller crotch angles and heavy top.

Pruning: Proper pruning of mango trees after the harvest gives the best results in terms of disease and pest management, diversion of food materials to the productive shoots, increased photosynthetic activity and increased carbohydrate and starch content, early production of new flush that bear the crop in the next season. Pruning also helps in increased cytokinin, Ascorbic acid and auxin content, which is beneficial for flowering. Abscissic acid level will also increase which inhibits the vegetative growth and promote flowering. Thus pruning helps in obtaining regular fruiting and production of quality fruits.

After giving a rest period of 15-20 days after harvesting, pruning has to be taken up. The details of pruning are:

v Remove all the old inflorescences that flowered during the previous season. This encourages the production of new vegetative flushes early in the season, which can mature in winter and flower in the succeeding season.

v     Remove all the lower branches, which are expected to touch the ground due to weight of fruits in the ensuing season. This facilitates easy operation under the tree.

v     Prune all the diseased, dead and broken branches and twigs.

v     Remove all the unfruitful branches and shoots that are lying inside the canopy to facilitate free circulation of air and to allow sunlight. These branches and twigs if not removed will harbour the pests like fruit borers, webbers, leaf miners and diseases like anthracnose, bacterial spots, powdery mildew, black band, pestalotia and red rust.

v     Incase of aged trees the top has to be opened by pruning the central stem at the top. A small branch on eastern and western side may be pruned to allow sun light into tree canopy and for proper ventilation.

v     Spray the trees after pruning thoroughly with 1% Bordeaux mixture or with 0.3% copper oxychloride as a prophylactic spray to control several diseases.

v     Paste all the cut ends with 10% Bordeaux paste or with Copper oxy chloride paste. Collect the pruned parts and destroy by burning.

Problems in mango cultivation:

Alternate (Biennial) and Irregular bearing in Mango:

The tendency of bearing a crop in one year (On year) followed by no crop or lean crop in subsequent year/s (Of year) is referred as alternate bearing or irregular bearing. Most of the promising varieties like Dashehari, Langda, Mulgoa, Kesar etc. are prone to this malady.In ‗on‘ year due to heavy crop load the tree is exhausted and not able to put up new vegetative growth to bear the crop in the following year resulting in to tendency of alternate bearing. In regular bearing varieties the new shoot production takes place concurrently with the fruiting or soon after the harvest in july which become mature enough to differentiate into fruit buds in October – Novenber. The irregular bearing varieties don‘t produce new shoot in the ‗On‘ years but produce those on ‗off‘ year, which, subsequently differentiate in to flower / fruit bearing shoots. The other possible reason for this is due to the presence of many fruits in the ‗On‘ year,the hormonal balance becomes favourable to gibberellins resulting in to vegetative growth than reproductive phase.so it exhibits alternatively.

Causes: The various possible factors associated with the problem can be grouped as genetical (varietal), physiological (maturity of shoot and hormonal imbalances), environmental (occurrence of diseases or pests) and nutritional.

Remidies:

    Planting of regular bearing varities like Amrapali, Ratna, Dashehari, Bangalora, mallika, Neelum etc.

    Application of Paclobutrazol (Cultar) @ 10ml a.i per 10 lit.of water/tree in the second fortnight of August.

    Pruning of the branches to reduce the inner areas of the plant.

    Meeting the nutrient requirements of the trees satisfactorily.

 

Mango malformation:

It is a complex and serious malady in North India and not so common in South India. Some varieties like Chausa, Bombay green and Fajri jafrani are more susceptible than others in N. India.

This malady has been distinguished into two groups i.e., vegetative malformation and Floral malformation.

1)    Vegetative malformation: is more pronounced in young plants. Affected mango seedlings or young plants develop excessive vegetative branches which have limited growth, swollen and with very short internodes and develop abnormally compact rosette like shoots presenting a bunchy top appearance.

2)    Floral malformation: The affected inflorescence becomes clustered and round. Most of the flowers lack essential organs and don‘t set fruit and its inflorescence continuously hang on the tree for months, being more green and sturdy.

Causes: Various causes like nutritional disorders, physiological, viral, fungal and acarological are reported. The available literature doesn‘t appear to support the above causes except the fungal; the only positive evidence for the cause of this is fungal origin. I.e., Fusarium moniliforis.

Control measures:

ü Destruct the infected small plant or plant parts

ü Spraying a fungicide like Captan @ 3grams or Bavistin @ 1gram / litre of water

ü Remove the affected parts by pruning 30cms below and paste with Bordeaux paste.

ü Early deblossoming combined with NAA 20ppm spray during October also reduces this considerably.

ü Growing of resistant varieties like ‗Bhadauran‘,‘Alib‘ and ‗Illaichi‘Bhardhan are resistant and free from this infestation.

 

Spongy tissue: A non-edible patch of flesh develops in the mesocarp of the fruit and becomes spongy, sour and yellowish is termed as spongy tissue. This can be detected only after cutting the ripe fruit. It is a physiological disorder in which the fruit pulp remains unripe because of unhydrolised starch due to inactivation of ripening enzyme because of high temperature, convective heat, and post harvest exposure to sunlight are the causes. Alphonso variety is very susceptible to this spongy tissue.

Remedial measures:

ü     Sod culture and mulching are useful in reducing spongy tissue.

ü     Growing mango hybrids Ratna and Arka Puneet, which are free from this problem.

ü     Harvesting fruits when they are three fourths matured rather than fully matured ones also reduces this malady.

Fruit Drop:

Fruit drop is serious problem in mango and cause great loss to the growers. A tree producing several thousand panicles yields only a few hundred fruits. Most of the flowers falling down after full bloom or at later stage of development. Only 0.1 to 0.25% perfect flowers or even less develop in to mature fruit. Fruits drop at all stages of maturity. Maximum fruit drop takes place in last week of April or first week of May depends upon favourable condition. The fruit drop can be divided in to three distinct phases eg., pin head drop, post setting drop and May drop. The flower drop as well as the fruit drop is primarily due to the formation of an abscission layer at the point of attachment of the fruit with the twig. Several factors have been considered responsible for the formation of abscission layer. The causes can be divided in to two;

External causes:

Ø Unfavourable climatic conditions.

Ø High incidence of serious diseases like powery mildew and anthracnose and pests like hoppers and mealy bugs.

 

Internal causes:

Ø Poor soil

Ø Lack of pollination

Ø Low stigmatic receptivity

Ø Defective perfect flowers

Ø Poor pollen transference

Ø Occurrence and extent of self incompatibility.

Ø Abortion of embryo

Ø Degeneration of ovules.

Ø Competition between developing fruit lets.

Ø Drought / lack of irrigation.

Measures to prevent fruit drop:

Ø Spraying of 2, 4-D @ 10 ppm or NAA @ 50 ppm at pea stage and at marble stage helps in preventing fruit drop.

Ø Providing pollinisers for self-incompatible types.

Ø Maintaining sufficient soil moisture also prevents fruit drop and helps in increasing the size of the fruit.

Ø Provision of wind beaks all around the orchards, which prevents drop due to high velocity winds at the time of fruit development.

 

Cropping:

Grafted mango usually starts bearing from the 4th to 6th year after planting. The precocious varieties like Dasehari start bearing even from the third or fourth year onwards. A grafted mango tree usually continue to bear till up to 50 years, but its most prolific years of bearing are generally from the 10 to 14 years. Seedling trees usually take about 8 years to come to bearing but their productive life is much longer.

Harvesting:

The mango fruit ripens in about 90 days after flowering. All fruits on a tree are generally harvested when a few fruits ripen naturally and fall from the trees. Another criterion for harvesting is a slight change of colour in certain fruits and specific gravity is around 1.01. Development of sinus and shoulders are also good indicators of matuirity. Fruits should be harvested individually along with pedicel and collected gently in baskets with the help of mango harvesters for minimizing damage

Yield:

The yield of mango depends on no. of factors like age of the plant, soil fertility, climatic conditions, variety, type of plant material like graft or seedling, management of the orchard etc. A mango tree having an age of 5 years bears about 200 fruits and 10-20 years bears a crop of 500-1000 fruits during an ―on‖ year. During 20-40 years its yield may range between 1000-3000 fruits.

Average yield is 16T/ ha/yr. (80kg/tree/yr.)

Diseases

1.    Powdery mildew:

Casual Organism: Oidium mangiferae

Symptoms:

Ø The infection starts from the inflorescence and spreads downwards covering the floral axis, tender leaves and stem. Infected leaves become twisted, curled and fall.

Ø Infected floral parts are severely damaged and drop off.

Ø If the fruits are set, they do not grow in size and may drop before attaining pea size.

Ø The loss due to the disease may be as high as 70-80%.

Management:

Ø Two preventive sprays with wettable sulphur 0.3% before flowers open and after fruit set.

Ø Dusting twice or thrice with fine sulphur.

Ø Spraying with Karathane 0.1% before flowering and after fruit set.

Ø Resistant varieties: Neelum, Zardalu, Banglora, Torapari-khurd and Janardhan pasand.

2.    Anthracnose:

Casual Organism: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

Symptoms:

Ø The fungus produces leaf spots, blossom blight, wither tip, twigs blight and fruit rot.

Ø On leaves circular, light yellow brown spots are produced initially which soon enlarge with dark brown to black margins.

Ø On inflorescence stalks and flowers minute spots are produced which increase in size and cause flower drop – the symptom hence is called blossom blight.

Ø Sunken spots appear on fruits near the stem end as small brown areas that enlarge rapidly and become black. Fruit pulp beneath the spots become hard followed by cracking and decay at ripening.

Management:

Ø Avoid over-crowding in orchards.

Ø Spray carbendazim or thiophanate methyl (0.1%) or Chlorothalonil (0.2%) at 14 days intervals from fruit set until harvest.

Ø Before storage, treat the fruits with hot water (50-55°C) for 15 minutes or dip in Benomyl solution (500 ppm) or Thiobendazole (1000 ppm) for 5 minutes or expose them to ammonia and sulphur dioxide gases.

3.    Sooty mould:

Casual Organism: Capnodium ramosum

Symptoms:

Ø The disease in the field is recognized by the presence of a black velvety coating, i.e., sooty mould on the leaf surface.

Ø In severe cases the trees turn completely black due to the presence of mould over the entire surface of twigs and leaves.

Ø The severity of infection depends on the honey dew secretion. Honey dew secretions from insects sticks to the leaf surface and provide necessary medium for fungal growth.

Management:

Ø Controlling of plant hoppers by spraying Carbaryl (2g/lt) or Phosphomidon 0.03% .

Ø Spray dilute solution of starch 5% (Boil 1 kg of starch in 5 litres of water, cool and dilute to 20 litres). The dried starch comes off in flakes, removing along with it the sooty mold growth

 

4.    Red rust:

Casual Organism: Cephaleuros virescens

Symptoms:

Ø The disease is characterized by red rusty spots on the leaves and young twigs.

Ø The spots are initially circular, slightly elevated and later coalesce and become irregular. 

Ø The upper surface of the spot consists of numerous unbranched sterile or fertile filaments of the pathogen which project through the cuticle. 

Ø Initially the spots are greenish-grey in colour but later on the surface bears reddish-brown appearance because the algal cells are impregnated with pigment which masks the normal green chlorophyll.

Management:

Ø Avoid close plantations.

Ø Prune unproductive branches to improve air circulation within the canopy of a tree.

Ø Spray Bordeaux mixture 1% or copper oxychloride 0.3%.

Major Pest

•        Mango Hopper (Amritodus atkinsoni)

Causal Organism:-   Idioscopus clypealis, I.nitidulus and Amritodus atkinsoni

It is most serious of all the mango pests and prevalent all over the country causing heavy damage to mango crop. Though hopper population exists throughout the year in mango orchards but occasionally it advances during January to April on flowering flush.

 Symptoms-                                                                    

§  Piercing and sap sucking of tender parts by nymphs and adults causing reduction of vigour that leads to shedding of flower buds, flowers and young fruits.

§  Development of sooty mould due to honey dew secretion on leaves gives blackish appearance.

§  Hoppers hibernate in the crevices of the barks on the tree.

§  During higher infestation periods, characteristic clicking sounds of leaf hoppers can be heard.

§  Warm, humid and clowdy climate is most conginial

Management Practices-

§  Avoid dense planting, maintain clean orchards, prune overlapping branches and infested shoots.

§  Neem based sprays can be utilized at initial stage of hopper population (Azadirachtin 3000 ppm@2ml/l).

§  Protecting and encouraging biocontrol agents like predators, Mallada boninensis, Chrysopa lacciperda, egg parasite, Polynema spp. Gonatocerus sp. Tetrastichus sp. and fungus, Verticillium lecanii.

§  Application of bio-agents, Metarhizium anisopliae @ 1x 108 cfu/ml or Beauveria bassiana @ 108 cfu /ml on tree trunk once during off season and twice at 7 days interval during flowering season.

§  Three to five sprays depending on pest intensity, first spray before flowering with 0.007 % cypermethrin, second at panicle intition satge with 0.07 % quinalphos or 0.1 % carbaryl, subsequent sprays with imidacloprid (0.0053%), thiomithaxam (0.005%) or dimethoate(0.03%).

Mealybug (Drosicha mangiferae)

In India, it is widely distributed along the Indo-gangetic plains and found in Punjab, UttarPradesh, Bihar and Delhi caused severe damage to mango crop. It attacks almost all the plant parts.

Symptoms-

·       Pinkish nymphs and adult mealy bugs are present on leaves, inflorescence, branches, fruits and fruit stalk.

·       The nymphs of this pest suck sap from leaves and inflorescence causing dryness leading to flower drop and negligible fruit set.

·       They also secrete honey dew which gives rise to sooty mold attack.

 

 

     Management Practices;-

·       Proper orchard maintenance by removal of weeds that harbor mealy bugs.

·       Ploughing of the orchard during November-December.

·       Flooding of orchard with water and raking of soil around tree trunk exposes the eggs to sun and natural enemies thereby destroying them.

·       Banding of tree trunk with polythene sheets (400 gauge) 30 cm above ground level and just below the junction of branching to obstruct the ascent of the nymphs. Banding should be done well in advance before the hatching of eggs, i.e., around November - December.

·       Application of Beauveria bassiana product (2g/L) or 5% NSKE around the tree trunk.

·       Release of predators, Menochilus sexmaculatus, Rodolia fumida, Sumnius renardi and Australian ladybird beetle, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri @ 10-15 No./tree are effective in controlling the nymphs of the mealy bug.

·       Application of Methyl Parathion dust 2% @ 250 g per tree in the soil around the trunk during 3rd or 4th week of December.

·       Early instar nymphs of the mealy bug can be controlled by spraying of 0.05 % carbaryl from January to March.

Stem Borer (Batocera rufomaculata)

This pest is widely distributed in India and attacks not only mango but also other varieties of fruits.

    Symptoms:

·       Grubs feed inside the stem boring upward making irregular tunnels which results in interruption of nutrient and water transport in the tissue.

·       Drying of terminal shoot in early stages and severe symptoms causes wilting of branches or entire tree.

Management Practices:

·      Maintain healthy orchard by destroying affected branches along with grubs and pupae.

·      Exclude alternate hosts around the vicinity of mango orchards.

·      Block the tunnel hole by cleaning and inserting cotton wool soaked in emulsion of DDVP (0.05%) or kerosene/ petrol and pack them with mud.

Carbaryl 0.1% can be swabbed at bimonthly intervals.

Shoot Borer (Chlumetia transversa)

This pest can be found throughout India and is serious in seedlings and young trees.

Symptoms :-

·      Tunneling from top-down wards of the tender terminal shoots.

·      Stunting of seedlings with terminal bunchy appearance.

·      Larvae of this moth bore into the young shoot resulting in dropping of leaves and wilting.

·      Similar symptoms also noticed on panicles.

 

           

Management Practices :

·       Attacked shoots should be clipped off and destroyed.

·       Effective control of the pest can be attained by spraying carbaryl (0.2%) or quinalphos (0.05%) at fortnightly intervals from the commencement of new flush.

·       Two sprays at three weeks interval commencing from initiation of new flush of leaves may be required.

Midges (Procontarinia pustalata)

Causal Organisms:- (Erosomyia indica,

                  Dasineura amraramanjarae, Procystiphora mangiferae    and Procontarinia matteriana)

There are four species of midges prevalent in India with three species attacking blossoms while one attacks the leaf. The inflorescence midge is becoming serious in some pockets of Uttar Pradesh, as well as Maharashtra.

A.  Leaf Gall Midge (Procontarinia matteriana)

Symptoms-

 

·       Wart-like galls produced on leaves that reduce photosynthetic activity leading to leaf drop and lowered fruit production.

·       Infested plant material and wind currents are responsible for its spread.

         

   B. Inflorescence Midge (Erosomyia indica)

Symptoms-

·      Attacks at flower bud burst stage and fruit set stage during January and May.

·      Appearance of black spots on the inflorescence.

 

Management Practices-

·      Deep ploughing of orchard exposing pupae and diapausing larvae to sun’s heat kills them.

·      Monitor of larval population and follow effective control measures based on population.

·      Spray thiomithoxam (0.05%) or dimethoate (0.05%) at bud burst stage.

Pest-Fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis)

Causal Organism:-   (Bactrocera dorsalis, B. correctus and       B. zonatus)

In India, eight species of genus Bactrocera are identified among quarantine pests with the oriental fruit fly B. dorsalis Hendel being the most destructive fruit fly of mango, followed by Peach fruit fly B. zonata Saunders and Guava fruit fly B. correcta Bezzi. The flies attack fruits at different stages of maturity but damage is more obvious at harvest period.

      Symptoms-

·      Sting marks and bruising to the fruit skin constitute the external damage that later turn to brownish rotten patches.

·      Injury to fruit occurs through oviposition punctures by females and subsequent larval tunneling.

·      Ripening fruits are more likely to be attacked.

      Management Practices-

·      Affected fruits should be collected and destroyed.

·      Rake up the soil below the tree and drench with chlorpyriphos 20 EC@ 2.5 ml/ L.

·      Setting up of methyl eugenol traps to lure the males in the orchard @ 10/Ha.

·      Spraying malathion@ 2 ml + Jaggery@ 10 g/ L or Carbaryl@ 4 g + Jaggery@ 10 g/ L at ripening stage.

Scale Insect (Aspidiotus destructor)

Causal Organisms: (Chloropulvinaria polygonata, Aspidiotus destructor)

In India mango is attacked by several species of scale insects, the predominant ones being Chloropulvinaria polygonata, Aspidiotus destructor, Parlatoria pergandii, P.cinerea and Lepidosaphes gloverii.

    Symptoms:

·      The vigour of the plants is reduced as both nymphs and adult scales suck the sap of the leaves and other tender parts.

·      Secretes honeydew which encourages the development of sooty mould on leaves and other tender parts of the mango plant.

·      Flower spikes and fruits may also be infested.

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAKESH KUMAR PATTNAIK 

Asst. Prof (Horticulture)