J. Hortl. Sci.

Vol. 13(1) : 1-31, 2018

Review

Enhancing Mango Productivity through Sustainable Resource Management

A.N. Ganeshamurthy*, T.R. Rupa and T.N. Shivananda
ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta, Bengaluru
*E-mail: angmurthy@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION management are the key factors for declining

productivity of mango over the years. One of the main
Mango the “King of fruits” is the most important reasons for the low productivity is imbalances in
fruit crop in India and the area under mango is the nutrient application and inadequate fertilization. An
largest among fruit crops (2,516 thousand ha) with a appraisal on soil nutrient deficiencies and
production of around 19.69 million tonnes. India ranks superimposing specific crop for district-wise crop
first in mango production in the world contributing 41% based nutrient delineation maps is essential for
of the total world production of mango. Among Indian preparing strategic guide in realizing potential yields of
states, with a total output of 4.3 million MT, Uttar mango by formulating appropriate fertilization schedule.
Pradesh stands first as mango producing state. The status of soil fertility in mango growing areas under
(Fig.1).This is followed by Telangana (2.73 million different agro-ecological regions of India and the
MT), Karnataka (1.75 million MT) and Bihar (1.36 district-wise crop based nutrient delineation maps of
million MT). Particularly in India all stages of mango prime mango producing states of India along with
fruit are used starting from immature to over ripe nutrient deficiency symptoms in the plant and their
stages. Mango has specific problem of alternate management is presented here.
bearing leading many times to low yields or no yield.
World scenario of mango production
Before 1960, mango was not a tradable
commodity and virtually there was no international trade
of fresh fruit. However, in recent years the international
trade of mango fresh fruits and its processed products
become well established. India and other Asian
countries produce the major share of global mango of
which India alone produces an average of 19.69 million
tonnesa year. The cultivation has now spread to more
than 100 countries. There are more than 65 countries
which produce more than 1,000 MT a year contributing
to the total 40 MT global production of mangoes (Table
1).The demand for mango fruits, particularly from
temperate countries, is increasing.EU countries and
the USA are the leading importers of fresh fruits.
Though the main mango season is March to July, today
we have an extended period of mango availability due
to extended season in other countries like Venezuela,
Kenya, Columbia and Brazil, (Mitra 2016). Though the
Fig 1. Trends in mango production in India mango season is expanding, the preferred varieties are
grown in Asian countries with India alone having nearly
The tree is hardy in nature, can be grown in a
variety of soils and requires comparatively low 1,300 cultivars (although 20 grown commercially)
maintenance costs. But poor soil, nutrient and water followed by Thailand having about 100 varieties.

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 Ganeshamurthy et al

Mango crop boundary in India Similarly within these states, based on categorization
with respect to area and production per unit area, one
Mango is grown throughout the country on all
hundred eleven districts were identified as prime mango
types of soils and in all the agro ecological sub regions
growing districts (Table 2). The boundary map of
except in very cold or extremely dry desert areas.
mango was prepared using district maps of respective
Based on area and production, ten states were identified
leading mango producing states
as prime mango producing states of India (Fig. 2).
(Ganeshamurthyetal.2016a).
Table 1: Area, production and productivity in leading mango producing countries of the world
(Source: FAO, 2017)
Country Area (m ha) Share (%) Production (million tonne) Share (%) Productivity (t ha-1)
India 2.52 46.0 19.69 41.6 6.92
China 0.48 8.8 4.62 10.7 9.6
Thailand 0.38 7.0 3.14 7.3 8.27
Indonesia 0.2 3.7 2.06 4.8 10.5
Mexico 0.2 3.7 1.9 4.4 9.56
Pakistan 0.17 3.1 1.66 3.8 9.68
Brazil 0.07 1.3 1.16 2.7 16.53
Bangladesh 0.12 2.2 0.95 2.2 7.66
Nigeria 0.13 2.4 0.85 2.0 6.54
Egypt 0.09 1.7 0.83 1.9 9.09
Others 1.1 20.2 8.12 18.8 7.41
World 5.44 - 43.3 - 7.96

Problems in mango production

Very low average productivity
The area and production of mango has been
continuously increasing over the years (Table 3). Over
the years though the overall productivity is increasing,
the productivity levels are very low compared to other
countries. The area under mango cultivation was just
1077.6 thousand ha during 1991-92. It has increased
to 2262.8 thousand ha in 2016-17. There has been
drastic fluctuation in production of mango. Between
1991-92 and 2007-08, the production increased from
8715.6 thousand MT to 13997 thousand MT. But in
2008-09 the production declined to 12750 thousand MT.
From 2009 onwards there has been a continuous
increase in the production (from 15026.7 thousand MT
in 2009-10 to 19686.9 thousand MT in 2016-17).
Between 1991-92 to 2016-17 the area increased by
210 % . Simultaneously the production increased by
226 %. The decrease in productivity during this period
is just because the trees were young and yielded less
Fig. 2. Major mango growing areas in India which was not considered while calculating the
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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

Table 2. Major mango growing states and districts of India

S.No. State Districts Area (000’ ha)
1 Uttar Pradesh Allahabad, Barabanki, Basti, Bulandshahar, Faizabad, 262.16
Gorakhpur, Hardoi, J.P. Nagar, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut,
Moradabad, Pratapgarh, Saharanpur, Sitapur,Varanasi, Unnao
2 Andhra Pradesh Anantapur, Chittoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Nellore, 304.11
(United) Prakasam, Srikakulam, West Godavari
3 Karnataka Bengaluru, Belgaum, Dharwad, Hassan, Kolar, Mysore, Tumkur 180.53
4 Telangana Adilabad, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, 190.88
Nizamabad, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Warangal
5 Bihar Bhagalpur, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, 149.00
Sheohar, Sitamarhi,Vaishali, West Champaran
6 Maharashtra Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Mumbai, Nanded,
Osmanabad, Parbhani, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Thane 485.00
7 Gujarat Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Navsari, Surat, The Dangs Valsad 142.69
8 Tamil Nadu Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Madurai, 161.58
Salem, Theni, Tiruvallur, Tirunelveli, Vellore
9 Odisha Angul, Cuttack,Debagarh, Dhenkanal, GajapatiKandhamal, 197.52
Kendujhar, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Nabaranpur, Puri, Rayagade,
Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Subarnapur
10 West Bengal Bankura, Bardhaman, Birbhum, DakshinDinajpore Hooghly, 93.50
Howrah, Malda, Midnapore (West & East), Murshidabad,
Nadia,24 Parganas (North & South), Purulia, Uttar Dinajpore
All India 2515.97

productivity. However, except that it declined to 5.5

MT/ha in 2008-09 the productivity reached up to 8.7
MT/ha in 2016-17. There was overall increase of 7.4
% in productivity of mango from 1991-92 to 2016-17.
However, the productivity of other countries are much
above India (Brazil, 15.83 t/ha, Pakisthan 10.62t/ha,
Indonasia 9.78t/ha, China 9.35t/ha, Mexico 9.33t/ha),
(NHB 2017)

Causes of poor mango productivity

As discussed above, the productivity of mango
both at domestic level and as compared to international
level is very low. There are several reasons for this
low productivity. A schematic presentation of the
causes of low productivity is shown in Fig. 3. The Fig. 3. Causes of low productivity of mango
causes may be either soil related or tree/orchard
management related or climatic extremities or a mango productivity cannot be decided on single year
combination of all these factors. data and should have an average of at least five years.
Further, generally the mango fruit yields are generally
Tree/orchard management related causes of low compared with other tropical and subtropical fruit
low productivity species. The yielding capacity of a tree is dependent
The mango yields fluctuate over the years on variety, tree age, tree size, seasonal conditions, and
because of its alternate/irregular bearing habit. Hence previous cropping history. Typically, yields are often
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Table 3. Area, production and productivity of mango in India

Area Production Productivity
Year
(in ‘000 ha) (in ‘000 MT) (in MT/ha)
1991-92 1078 8716 8.1
2001-02 1576 10020 6.4
2002-03 1623 12733 7.8
2003-04 1907 11490 6.0
2004-05 1970 11830 6.0
2005-06 2081 12663 6.1
2006-07 2154 13734 6.4
2007-08 2201 13997 6.4
2008-09 2309 12750 5.5
2009-10 2312 15027 6.5
2010-11 2297 15188 6.6
2011-12 2378 16196 6.8
2012-13 2500 18002 7.2
2013-14 2516 18431 7.3
2014-15 2163 18527 8.6
2015-16 2209 18643 8.4
2016-17 2263 19687 8.7

(Source: Horticultural Statistics at a Glance, NHB 2018. Horticulture Statistics Division,

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare, Government of India.)

less than 5 mt/ha but can reach upto 20–30 mt/ ha in attr ibuted to over cr owded and inter mingled
well managed orchards. Single trees can produce branches and meager foliage, allowing poor light
between 200 and 300 kg of fruit in heavy cropping penetration to growing shoots within the canopy.
years and as low as 5kg in bad years. Non orchard Only less than 30 per cent of the leaves are exposed
isolated trees unusually record very high yields. For to bright sunshine while the older leaves are hidden
example a tree of bernishan has yielded 4.6 tonnes in in shade and become photosynthetically inactive and
a single tree in Chittoor, an Alphonso tree has yielded become a b ur den on the tr ee dr aining the
3.2 tonnes in Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumkur district carbohydrate resources (Fig. 4). This renders
of Karnataka, anotheralphonso tree in Krishnagiri has
yielded 2.6 tonnes. These are old trees and have
unlimited exposure to light and sufficiently fed with
manures. A summary of the major constraints affecting
mango production in different states is given in
Table 4.
i) Senility of mango trees : Decline in productivity
due to old age of trees is called senility. One of the
reasons for the low productivity is a large number
of old mango orchards in the age group of 30 years
and above, have either gone unpr oductive or Fig. 4. A schematic view of light penetration in
showing marked decline in productivity. This is senile mango tree.

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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

Table 4. Major constraints affecting mango production in different states

State Productivity (t/ha) Major growing districts Specific problems

Uttar Pradesh 16.4 Lucknow, Saharanpur, Senile orchards, alternate bearing, mild
Unnao, Bulandshahar, to moderate sodicity, nutritional
J.P. Nagar deficiencies, heat waves
Andhra Pradesh 9.0 Chittoor, Krishna, Delayed/unseasonal rainfall, temperature
Vizianagaram fluctuations, low soil fertility
Karnataka 9.7 Kolar, Ramnagara, Tumkur, Rainfed cultivation, low soil fertility
Chikkaballapura, Dharwad and moisture retention
Bihar 9.2 Darbhanga, Samastipur, Alternate bearing, unseasonal /
Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, deficient rainfall, hail storms
Vaishali
Gujarat 7.9 Valsad, Navsari, Junagadh, Water stress, salinity and nutritional
Surat, Kutch, Amreli deficiencies
Maharashtra 2.5 Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Hard lateritic, nutrient deficient acidic
Ahmednagar, Pune soils, high humidity and heat stress in
Alphonso growing areas
Odisha 3.8 Dhenkanal, Rayagada, Acidic soils, rainfed production,
Koraput, Kalahandi poor canopy management, cyclones /
hail storms

uneconomical. In North India, exhausted trees can plant. The orchards become unproductive and sick
be rejuvenated by severe pruning in winters for the because of lack of adoption of major operations
production of new shoots, which can bear good crop such as canopy management, manuring, plant
in the following years. protection, irrigation, mulching, etc.. In general,
canopy of fruits on trees has irregular shape. Trees
The decline of productivity has been attributed of irregular shape and size are difficult to deal with
to various factors. Most of the problems are due to and even culminate into poor yield in the subsequent
faulty management i.e. poor land use planning for years as the lower branches of canopy gradually
orchard establishment (unsuitable site and climate), turns inert and infertile as well. In Uttar Pradesh,
cultivation of intercrops by removing the entire crop and other northern plains the mango yields starts
residues, inadequate nutrition, improper planning, declining in 40-45 y old Dashehari trees (Lal and
undesirable planting materials, incidence of insect Mishra, 2008), but in late maturing Chausa, yield
pest and disease and other biotic and a biotic decline may begin in relatively younger plantations
stresses. A typical senile/declining orchard shows (30 y) (Lal and Mishra, 2007). In KonkanAlphonso,
symptoms of i) Sparse appearance, ii) typically productivity diminishs in H”30 y old trees. This is
chlorotic/yellowing, unexplained types of foliage mainly attributed to canopy shading in older
symptoms, iii) undergrowth and sickly appearance, plantations (e” 60 y) reduced light penetration which
iv) dried-up top growth v) small and less number of results in very low yields (H”2.5 t ha -1) (Burondkaret
fruits. The branches of trees start to die from the al., 2000). Similarly in rainfedareas of Karnataka,
top to downwards, trees loose biomass and starve Alphonso orchards become less productive in H”25
from lack of carbohydrate, ultimately result in poor years after establishment (Reddy and Kurian, 2011).
quality rough surface, thick skin and less juice fruits. In West Bengal, Himsagar orchards above 40 years
Such type of decline may be seen in whole orchards, age display very low productivity. About 30-40%
on in a single tree or patches. In orchards crossing of the orchards in traditional areas are believed to
the age of 30 years, it is a rare to get any plantation have gone less productive. Apart from yield the
free of this malady. This intensity varies from plant fruits borne on ageing trees may also be poor in
to plant and from season to season in the same bioactive compounds. For example the fruits from
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30-years old Amrapali trees had less total phenols, in 10m x 10m check. When yearly average is
ascorbic acid and antioxidants (Meena and Asrey, calculated high density orchard yielded 6.3 tonnes and
2018). This is attributed mainly due to poor exposure that of normal spacing 1.27 tonnes. Both the yields
to sunlight. Only sun-exposed areas produce good are extremely low indicating that the management in
quality fruit both high density as well as normal spacing orchards
are extremely poor. The yields in other experimental
ii) Poorly managed high density orchards. density planting (400 and 178 plants per hectare) with
High-density cultivation is the concept today to dwarfing root stocks and paclobutrasol were also very
achieve higher productivity in short period. Crowding poor. Hence this result of enhanced yield in high density
of plants is now considered an assured way of having orchards cannot be taken on its face value(Kurian
a higher production. This is common in banana, papaya, 2016) because the national mango average productivity
pineapple. Apple and guava. However, in mango it is itself stood at 7.51tonnes per hectare in 2009-10,
rather of recent development. An increasing number 8.56tonnes in 2014-15, 8.44tonnes in 2015-16 and 8.70
of farmers across the country have already started tonnes per hectare in 2016-17(NHB, 2018). A recent
adopting high-density cultivation of mango. In a review of performance of high density mango orchards
traditional matrix of 10 meter by 10 meter spacing in a by Menzel and Lagadec(2017) has shown that trees
hectare, 100 trees can be accommodated. However, planted at high density soon begin to crowd and shade
in high-density planting, 1,600 trees of Alphonso or each other and production falls. There has been no
Amrapali variety can be planted. The yield of mangoes general agreement on the optimum planting density for
in the high-density system goes up to 18 tonnes per commercial orchards which vary from 200–4000 trees
hectare compared to 6 tonnes for traditional planting. per ha in different experiments. Some potential
Certain ultra high-density mango cultivation on a dwarfing material has been developed in India (like
commercial scale is also in place in Tamil Nadu. Vellikolulumban and Olour) and elsewhere, but these
cultivars and rootstocks have not been widely accepted
However, mango experience is not as good as by farmers and nursery men and have not been
in case of papaya and banana. Mango is not as integrated into high-density orchards. Canopy
amenable for regular pruning as in guava and other management needs to take into account the effect of
fruit crops. Nutrient management under high density pruning on the regrowth of the shoots and branches,
is also not well standardized. Due to irregular bearing light distribution through the canopy and the loss of the
habit of mango, though the claim on regular bearing is leaves that support the developing crop. Pruning must
made, examples of alternate bearing is also equally also take into account the effect of vegetative growth
reported. We are yet to minimize the unproductive on flower initiation. Annual light pruning usually
components of plants without sacrificing the overall provides better fruit production than more severe
health of the tree through optimization of the pruning conducted less regularly. There have only been
parameters of growth in high density mango orchards. a few cases where it has been demonstrated that
In the northern plains the HDPs of Amrapali in paclobutrazol can counteract the negative effect of
absence of annual pruning showed slow decline in yield pruning on flowering and fruit production. There are
after 15 years. Poor light penetration in HDPs (Fig 1) also concerns with residues of this chemical in export
results in reduced availability of photo-assimilates markets and contamination of ground waters. The
adversely affecting vegetative growth, flowering and productivity of mango is not likely to be increased by
fruit set (Sharma and Singh, 2006). In another study the use of high-density plantings without extensive
25 year old high density orchards of Mallika and efforts in canopy management.
Dashehari also exhibited marked reductions in
productivity (Singh etal., 2010). In the southern region Rainfed situations -a reason for low
fifteen year experience of high density planting of productivity of mango
Alphonso mango in IIHR is not as promising as that Mango is basically a tropical and subtropical
of a normal 10m x10m planting in practice with farmers tree. It can grow best in these climatic conditions.
of Karnataka. Averaged over first fifteen orchard Water and plant nutrients are the two key inputs
years high density Alphonso mango with 1111 plants enhancing the mango productivity. They need a good
per hectare yielded 94.98 tonnes against 19.2 tonnes
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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

amount of rain during their growth period and a dry orchards. This year (2018) untimely rains and gusty
spell during the flowering period. However, a large winds have damaged mango trees at several places.
hectarage of mango in India is under rainfed
conditions. The trees withstand water deficit well Changing climate has badly hit mango
but with appreciable reductions in fruit yield. It productivity
grows well both in low (25 cm) and high (250 cm)
rainfall areas. In areas with high rainfall, mango Climate change is becoming an observed reality.
orchard soils in many rainfed areas have low SOC, It would be a tedious work to analyze and present the
high run-off losses and low WHC as is seen in expected consequences of climate change on mango
Subtr opical foothill zones of north-wester n production and cultivation in all the mango regions of
Himalayas (Rathoreetal. 2013), Eastern Ghats the country. Because of the vast number (20)of
highland zone of Odisha (Swain et al., 2012), red agroecological regions, it is not possible to draw a
and lateritic soils of Deccan plateau (Reddy and general scenario of these consequences because of
Kurian, 2011) and black clay loam soils of Madhya
regional and seasonal variability for the future climate,
Pradesh (Tiwari and Baghel, 2015).
and likely different cultivar responses. However, they
However, with annual rainfall around 75 cm, will be mostly negative and mango cultivation will
it grows without irrigation.The mango flowers and experience more severe climatic conditions.
fruits during dry season, which is characterized by
absence of rainfall. Rain or cloudy weather at the Climatic change and unseasonal rain regularly
time of flowering causes considerable damage to dampen the prospects of mango farmers in southern
mango as it adversely affects flowering and fruit India. Late flowering and delayed fruit maturity and
set and increases incidence of pests and diseases. the resultant delay in harvest gets mangos caught in
In other words, it needs a good amount of rainfall rains leading to very poor quality of mangos. On the
from June to October and dry spell from November. other hand with the regularly prevailing severe cold,
Rainfall, high level of humidity or frost during due and fog during the nights and increasing
flowering period may hinder the flower formation temperatures during the day, the mango flowering is
process. Availability of soil moisture and nutrients subjected to damage in northern plains. However,
at critical stages of plant growth enhances the crop throughout the country the rain and hailstorm
productivity. Drought during peak monsoon period accompanied by strong winds are another climatic
affect biomass accumulation in the trees without factor severely damaging the yields of mango crop.
which the tree does not enter into reproductive The mango hoppers and the powdery mild dew are
phase. Ultimately this leads to an “off” year. On affecting mango flowers to a large extent and it is now
the contrary in an “on” year if the rain or cloudy a regular trend that the mango flowering being
weather prevails at the time of flowering may damaged. Under favorable season if the mango harvest
become an “off” year due to considerable damage. is delayed and harvesting period penetrates into pre-
This adversely affects flowering and fruit set and monsoon period then there will be severe damage due
increases incidence of pests and diseases. During to fruit fly and stone weevils. Apart from this mealy
drought or deficit moisture the numbers, varieties bugs and tearstains are on the increase leading to very
and destructive power of pests increase, and there poor quality fruits. An aberration in weather has started
is a lack of effectivity of pesticides against them. showing severe staggered flowering leading to irregular
maturity time of fruits. Severity of the problem is such
Many rainfed region mango farmers have gone that even paclobutrasol applications fail to induce
for tube well irrigation to protect the trees. However, flowering. Recurrent flowering from January-April
the main problem is that the farmers are facing water diverts assimilates towards the new panicles depriving
scarcity due to decline in ground water levels and water the developing fruits. Although temperature extremes
quality is also poor. There were no adequate rains for are causing the trees to flower repeatedly in my
the last three years (2014-17) in main mango belts of personal opinion it is singly caused by the insects
Konkan, Chittoor, Krishnagiri, Nuziveedu, Sambalpur, damaging the vegetative parts of the plant on a regular
Malda and Murshidabad, Saharanpur etc. due to which basis predisposing trees to carbohydrate deficiency
several farmers have ignored paying attention to mango and ultimately leading to staggered flowering. About
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Table 5. Farmers perception of temperature changes in

Konkan region (http://www.downtoearth.org.in)

Maximum Minimum
Month
A decade ago Now A decade ago Now
January 25-26 32-33 18-20 14-15
February 27-28 33-35 20-21 14-16
March 27-28 36-38 23-24 17-18
April 31-32 42-43 28-30 35-36

18 insects and 14 fungal and bacterial pathogens cause Soil related constraints, nutritional constraints
appreciable economic losses to mango in different and abiotic stresses
growing regions.Farmers perception on temperature
changes in Konkan region during mango season is Mango by the virtue of its perennial nature of
given in Table 5. woody framework locks major proportion of nutrients
in stems, branches and leaves. Their extended
In the  past  few  year s,  the  far mer s ar e physiological stages of growth, differential root
regularly incurring losses due to decline in the yield distribution pattern, growth stages from the point of
and due to poor quality of fruits. Some of our recent view of nutrient requirement and preferential
experiences are reported by Indian media. Briefly requirement of some nutrients like calcium, boron etc.,
i) In Krishnagir i mango hub of Tamil Nadu, collectively make it nutritionally more efficient than
scorching heat waves decreased production by 50% any annual crops. Mango has the ability for colonization
in 2016 (https://www.deccanchronicle.com, ii) in low fertility soils and dry-land areas by virtue of
Extended winter, low night temperature and high long leaf life span, leaf nutrient resorption efficiency,
day temperature have caused appreciable damage nutrient use efficiency and nutrient
to mango crop in Andhra Pradesh in the last 2-3 proficiency(Ganeshamurthy and Reddy 2015). Mango
years (http://www.thehansindia.com) iii) Heat stress is cultivated on all soil types like alluvial soils, red soils,
dealt a sever e blow to mango pr oduction in laterite soils, black soils and both in hills and plains and
Mahar ashtr a in 2017 (https:// plateau regions and on both shallow and deep rooted
timesofindia.indiatimes.com), Hailstorm and thunder soils. However the productivity is dictated by the soil
showers spoiled about 50% crop in Jeypore, Odisha related constraints in these respective regions. Being
in 2017 (http://www.newindianexpress.com), iv) a very hardy crop mango tolerates a varying degree
Climate variability and heat stress in summer months of flooding, drought, salinity and acidity. This wide
have substantially trimmed mango growers’ profits adoptability of mango is because of existence of both
in Uttar Pradesh since the last few years (https:// calcicole and calcifuge mangos in India and they occupy
scroll.in), v) Unfavourable weather conditions like such regions suiTable to those genotypes. For example
cloudy weather during flowering badly hit ‘Noor most of the southern states and Western states have
Jahan’ grown only in Alirajpur district of MP in the calcifuge mangos like Alphonso, Badami, Totapuri,
last few years (https://www.hindustantimes.com), Bernishan, Kesar, Raspuri, Neelam, Sindhuraetc.
vi). In Konkan region, drop in temperature resulted which do not tolerate alkaline (basic) soil. While all
in delayed arrival in 2010,2011,2012. There was a north Indian mangos like dasheri, langra, chausa,
sudden drop in temperature in 2010 – 11. This cold amrapali, safedaetc are calcicole mangos which do
wave prolonged during 2011 – 12 and 2016-17. not tolerate acidic soils. Though we find intermixing
Fur ther the cold waves wer e ver y er r atic. of these varieties these days, the productivity is affected
Ultimately these events resulted in a drop in heat
by the respective soil constraints in their region. Some
units by 5.5- 4.2 degree days. As a consequence
of the main constraints in different soil types are:
there was delay flowering, recurrent flowering, poor
pollination and fertilization, severe fruit drop and Alluvial soil : The main constraints in these soils
delay in maturity. include low content of N,P,S,Zn and organic matter
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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

and development of salinity and/or sodicity under Measures to enhance mango productivity
injudicious use of irrigation water. under constraint environment
Red Soil : The main constraints in these soils include 1. Conservation Horticulture in Mango Orchards
surface crusting and low soil depth under upland
conditions. These soils are low in water holding Mango orchards in India are witnessing severe
capacity and have high soil-erosion potential and degradation of soil. Much of this degradation can be
surface runoff. They have compacted subsurface attributed to common, but exploitative, orchard
layer due to illuviation, which may lead to restricted management practices like repeatedploughing that
destroys the soil structure and degrades organic matter,
root development. These soils have low CEC and
burning or removing crop residues from the orchards,
high P fixing capacity. These soils are low in N,P,
mono-cropping with single variety. Soil and water
Ca, B, Zn and S.
management practices that sustain and enhance the
Laterite soil : The major constraints of these soils productivity of orchard soils are a must and are a vital
are deficiency of P accentuated by high P fixing part of the long-term solution to enhance mango
capacity of Fe and Al phosphates, high acidity, productivity.
toxicity of Al and Mn and deficiency of K, Ca, Mg,
Zn and B. Conservation horticulture is a new concept in
management of soil health under perennial horticultural
Black soil : The main constraints in this soil to cropping systems. Conservation horticulture aims to
mango production are due to low infiltration and poor overcome these problems by addressing the four basic
drainage when wet leading to water logging and principles a) disturb the soil as little as possible b)
high runoff and soil loss during heavy downpour. keep the soil covered and c) mix and rotate crops and
Otherwise these soils suffer from moisture stress d) conserve the soil moisture. Experiments conducted
during drought. These soils are poor in organic reasonably over a long period on such soil management
carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. Water systems provide valuable information about
holding capacity is a major problem in shallow soils. sustainability of production systems. Conservation
Whereas deep soils when irrigated are very much horticultural practices improved the quality of soil,
prone to salinity and sodicity particularly in the especially near the surface, by lowering the bulk density
subsoil. The calcareous nature of these soils affects and enhancing infiltration rate. The soil aggregate
the availability of many micronutrients particularly formation and water stability have enhanced in plots
iron. with conservation practices because of higher
production of glomalin compared with vegeTable and
Generalizing these limitations we may face orchard plots where conventional practices were
marginal to moderate sodicity and high pH in many followed. Relationship between measured infiltration
parts of nor thern plains, soil acidity related and soil properties showed high average infilteration
constraints in mango belts of Mahar ashtr a, rates in conservation plots due to high organic matter
Jharkhand and Odisha., soil and groundwater salinity content, low bulk density values and enhanced
in traditional (e.g., south Gujarat) and potential (e.g., exchangeable basic cations(Ganeshamurthyetal
Jalgaon, Haryana) mango growing belts. In Alphonso 2016b). Vegetable plots and conventional mango plots
growing areas of Maharashtra, lateritic soils showed complete decline in earthworm and centipede
developed from basalt have poor fertility and low population while plots with conservation practices
nutrient retention capacity. In red and lateritic soils showed a build-up of their population. Microbial and
of Deccan plateau, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and in biochemical properties significantly improved in plots
Eastern states, mango suffer s fr om nutr ient with conservation horticultural practices over orchard
leaching, poor base status, acidity and low moisture plots with conventional practices. Legumes as inter
retention capacity. However, in all the regions and cover crops were found to be superior in improving
deficiencies of major (NPK) and some soil quality than sweet potato. These interventions
micronutrients (Zn, B) are the main yield limiting ultimately enhanced the mango productivity and
factors. profitability (Ganeshamurthyetal., 2018).Farmers

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throughout the country are beginning to adopt them; challenges. Management of acid soils should aim at
they have seen their yields rise, their soil gain in health realization of production potential either by addition of
and fertility, and their labour needs reduced. amendment or manipulation of agricultural practices.
Conservation horticulture must be promoted actively In the uplands where mango crops dominate, soil
if it is to be spread rapidly. Grass root players (farmers, acidity is caused mostly by leaching losses of bases
extension workers, input suppliers, etc.,) often lack and high percolation of water. This creates problems
information on what, when and how to do it. The of crust formation particularly in light textured red soils.
intercrops recommended/adopted in different mango The common problems for mango production on such
growing regions are listed in Table 6. The extension soils are low pH, low CEC, high concentrations of Al,
agencies must create massive awareness programme Fe and Mn, nutrient imbalance, low level of base
to promote conservation horticulture in mango. saturation, high P fixation and domination of low activity
clays.
2. Mango on marginal lands: Measures to
sustain and enhance yields Liming : One of the most common practices to
Several examples of mango cultivation on overcome the problems of soil acidity for fruit
marginal lands are available. Most of these are farmer- production is liming the soil to correct soil pH. Before
undertaking liming, one must decide whether to correct
led innovations. Typical among them is the ‘rock
soil pH or to reduce some of the toxicities associated
blasting’. Practiced in Konkan region for Alphonso
with soil acidity and overcome deficiency of some of
mango cultivation on degraded laterite soils.The system
the nutrient elements. There are five guidelines that
of planting Alphonso mango on these exposed, barren
help us determine the lime requirement: i) the orchard
laterite rocks (qualifying as wastelands, termed
to be limed, ii)the desired change in pH, iii) buffering
Jambhadagad locally) of Konkan region, is a
capacity of the specific soil, iv) type of liming material,
successful soil management module developed by local
and v) the fineness or texture of the liming material.
farmers, in practice for decades now. In this method,
To avoid aluminum and manganese toxicity problems,
existing native trees are cleared followed by blasting
a soil should be limed if the pH is less than 5.5. Since
of below ground hard surfaces (locally called
finer textured soils have greater buffering capacity than
jambhadagad) to create bowl-shaped pits that are
coarser textured soils, more lime must be added to the
filled with non-native soils to overcome the nutritional
finer textured soil to achieve the same effect and reach
constraints in the local acidic soils. This is a unique
the target pH(Ganeshamurthyetal.2016d). Liming soils
model for sustainable development of Wasteland with
under mango can also be accomplished with surface
Tree-based farming System under a very fragile
application with little or no tillage. Irrigation and rainfall
ecosystem of Western Ghats under high intensity and
slowly leaches the lime, which is relatively insoluble,
heavy rainfall. Using this technology, over 130,000 ha
from the surface into the soil profile where it can react
hard lateritic lands in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigad
districts have been put under Alphonso cultivation. After to neutralize soil acidity. Using the proper fertilizer
planting, due care is necessary for soil placement formulation is an important way to manage soil
around saplings for the proper development of feeder acidification where liming is less easily incorporated
roots.Today the mangoes grown in the district of than in annual or short-term systems. Periodic soil
Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg carry the GI tag and are testing is recommended for amended soils. Soil test
marketed as the very special RatnagiriAlphonso or results provide the current soil pH information and
Haapoos. In fact, farmers from these two districts indicate whether there is a need for further addition of
created a “Market Brand”and have been awarded lime, sulfur or dilute acids. Acid neutralization takes
with Global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) time, so lime should be applied to acidic soils 3–6 months
certificate that enables them to export their mangoes. prior to planting or seeding. Over the course of the
growing season, the pH of the limed soil may change
3. Cultivation of mango on acidic soils back, therefore periodic soil testing is recommended.
A large area of mango in southern states, eastern Fertilization : Macronutrient applications, can
states and western ghats is on acidic soils. These significantly adjust soil pH in the root zone instead of
orchards productivity are low as they face several the whole plough layer. Nutrients can change soil pH

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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

differently depending on the electric charge of the orchards in Indo GangeticPlane, farmers use flood
nutrient ions. There are two types of nutrients: positively irrigation.
and negatively charged. The positively charged
nutrients include ammonium-nitrogen, potassium, However large tracts of mango orchards depend
calcium and magnesium, etc. All of these nutrients may upon tubewells for irrigation. Declining water Table,
reduce soil pH in the root zone. Hence such fertilizers deteriorating irrigation water quality leads to salinization
should be avoided. The negatively charged nutrients of orchard soils. Development of soil salinity in this
include nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate, etc. All of these area is often associated with use of poor quality water
nutrients may increase the pH in the root zone. Such for irrigation. There is a drastic increase in the chloride
fertilizers must be promoted for mango on acid soils. and bicarbonate content of the tubewell waters which
affect mango yields very badly. In such areas gypsum
Promotion of micorrhiza and biofertilizers : application, raised beds, salt tolerant rootstocks,
Mycorrhiza plays an important role in acquisition of mulching and drip irrigation, crop residue recycling,
nutrients particularly P, Zn and other micronutrients. rainwater harvesting to leach salts during summer
Inoculation of seedlings at nursery stage helps in better months are suggested. In Jalgaon, improved
root colonization in establishment of mycorrhiza. management led to the successful hi-tech mango
However with the new technology developed at IIHR, orcharding in problem area of salinity and fresh water
mycorrhiza inoculums may also be applied to trees in scarcity (Krishna etal., 2009). Salt tolerant rootstocks
orchards to colonization in established orchards. In like 13-1 may be used to sustain mango cultivation in
addition to this, nutrient mobilizingbiofertilizers like Arka salt-affected soils. Such work have been initiated at
Microbial Consortium(AMC) developed by IIHR is Kurukshetra and Centre of Excellence for Mango at
performing extremely well in mango orchards in better Gir.
acquisition of nutrients. Such effective biofertilizers
must be promoted for enhancing the productivity of 5. Watershed approach for enhancing mango
mango on acid soils. productivity in wastelands

4. Prospects of Mango on salt-affected soils: Mango is suiTable for colonization in waste lands,
low fertili ty soils and drylands(Ganeshamurthy and
Secondary salinization (due to anthropogenic Reddy, 2015). If wasteland is developed under
activities such as irrigation) may occur by improper watershed model then mango is a candidate crop for
management of irrigation. Crop yields are drastically promotion. The national bank for agriculture and rural
affected due to lack of availability of water, nutrients, development(NABARD) under Wasteland Agriculture
and oxygen in the root zone. The magnitude of yield Development Initiative (WADI), has been promoting
reduction depends on the crop, soil type, and mango cultivation on wastelands in tribal areas. Wadi
management. The reduction in yield normally ranges (meaning small orchard) constitutes the core of the
from 10% to 90% for wheat, 30% to 50% for rice, WADI program around which other development
50% to 75% for cotton, and 30% to 90% for sugarcane. interventions are strengthened. Under this programme
Crop yield can be enhanced by nutrient management tribal families having  2 ha of land are selected for
(especially N), water management (irrigation with good holistic land development plans including soil and water
quality water and appropriate drainage), use of soil conservation measures. Minimal soil disturbance,
amendments (manures and gypsum, etc.), and use of improved orchard floor management and prevention
salt-tolerant varieties. of uncontrolled grazing lead to SOM accumulation,
Major factors causing salinity development in weed control, C-sequestration, nutrient recycling and
mango orchards are summarized in the following. improved soil structure while curtailing the production
costs and enhancing the fruit yield. Promotion of mango
Water shortage for irrigation : Salt-affected farming under WADI has led to manifold increase in
orchards are mainly located in semi-arid and lowland farm incomes in many tribal areas of country with
dry areas, where rainfall is neither sufficient nor reliable simultaneous improvements in soil quality
for sustainable mang production. In these areas, (www.nabard.org). Under tribal sub plan (TSP) IIHR
irrigation is necessary for stabilizing production. In many under its sub station CHES Bhuvaneshwar has

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 Ganeshamurthy et al

promoted Amrapali mango plantations in tribal areas being the principal component. Mango can be the
of Orissa. With the practice of modern management best candidate tree species for an agroforestry
practices, Amrapali mango in these tribal area recorded model. Mango plants start bearing 4-5 years after
very high productivity and helped in improving their planting and attain full bearing capacity usually after
economic conditions multiple folds. So far NABARD 10 years. Widely spaced orchards (10 x 10 m)
has implemented 51 WADI projects in 17 tribal- provide ample scope for growing short duration
dominated districts. crops for harnessing the productivity of interspaces.
Crop duration, compatibility with mango trees and
6. Mango-based Agro-forestry systems : market demands influence farmers’ decision making
for efficient utilization of interspaces in intercrop selection. Short duration, locally adapted
Under the pr esent scenar io of natur al leguminous crops providing higher net returns should
resource degradation and climate change, the be taken as subsidiary crops for year-round cash
potential of tr ees holds pr omis e to br ing flow and improvements in soil quality, enhancement
improvements in nutrition, income, housing, health, in biodiversity and an overall benefit to main mango
energy needs, and environmental sustainability in crop through several ecosystem services. Here the
the agricultural landscape, with the presence of trees basic principle of “Conservation horticulture” is

Table 6. Intercrops recommended/adopted in different mango growing regions

Region Agro-climatic conditions Orchard Intercrops
characteristics recommended/adopted
North Western Humid subtropical; sandy Cv. Mallika Cowpea-toria and okra-toria
Region loam soils (pH 6.5-7.0) 8 × 8 m rotations in pre-bearing phase
Turmeric and colocasia in
bearing orchards
North Eastern Humid subtropical; sandy loam Cv. Kalcho Cowpea, roselle, French bean,
Himalayas acidic soils (pH~5.5) 8x8m pineapple and turmeric in bearing
orchards
Indo-Gangetic Humid subtropical; sandy Cv. Dashehari Brinjal and bottle gourd in
plains loam slightly alkaline soils pre-bearing orchards
Humid subtropical Cv. Dashehari Wheat, brinjal and potato + pumpkin
Central India Rainfed, black clay loam soils Cv. Dashehari Companion intercropping of pigeon
(Mandsaur) 7× 7m pea + soybean; sequential
intercropping of cowpea-chickpea
Deccan plateau Rainfed lateritic coastal soils 3-years old trees Green chilli and palak in pre-bearing
phase
Semi-arid red soils Pre-bearing Brinjal-onion rotation
Sub Humid red soils 35 year Alphonso Cow pea, Sweet Potato, Mucuna
+ Pumpkin, Sweet corn, Niger,
Ground nut
Eastern Ghat Rainfed uplands; sandy clay Cv. Totapuri Guava as filler tree and cowpea/
Highland Zone loam soils (pH 6.3) 10 × 10 m French bean as intercrops
Western India Rainfed light soils 5-6 y old trees Soybean-mustard sequence
10 x 10 m
Rainfed plains zone of Cv. Kesar Minor millets and pulses up to
Western Maharashtra 5 years
Source: Rathoreetal.(2013), Sahoo (2016), Singh etal.(2015), Singh etal.(2008), Tiwari&Baghel (2015), Rao &Rao, (2007),
Sarkaretal.(2004), Swain etal.(2014), Ganeshamurthyetal. (2016b) Pawar&Sarwade (2006), Bhosaleetal.(2016).

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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

adopted in principle to overcome the problems of 7. Integrated mango-fodder production :

resource degradation by addressing the four basic a success story
principles a) disturb the soil as little as possible b)
ICAR- IIHR, Bengaluru and ICAR-IGFRI RRS
keep the soil covered, c) mix and rotate crops and
Dharwad have popularized intercropping of fodder
d) conserve the soil moisture. It has been seen at
crops in mango orchards. Besides improved fodder
several places that by practicing mango based
availability, this initiative has led to multifarious benefits
agroforestry systems the productivity of mango
in terms of reduced temperature stress, a significant
orchards have shown very promising improvement
decrease in weed intensity, and reduction in soil erosion.
over conventional commer cial or char ds. A
Apart from this a considerable decrease in pest-disease
compilation of the intercrops and cover crops
infestations and improvement in water penetration has
recommended for different orchard conditions and
been obtained. After the demonstration the perception
differ ent r egions ar e pr esented in
of farmers on this benefit was recorded and is as under
Table 6.
(Table 7)
Table 7. Farmer’s perception on benefits of intercropping fodder in mango orchards (Source:
Interaction with practicing farmers by authors)
On mango orchard On livestock rearing On farmers
Orchard temperature reduced Expenditure on feed decreased Knowledge on fodder crop improved
by half
Weed intensity reduced Increased milk by 0.931 Improved access to information
Soil erosion reduced Distance saved to fetch Improved access to seed/
fodder 1.42Km propogation material
Water penetration improved Labour saved 0.91 mandays Improvement in family nurishment
Reduced pest incidence
Reduced disease incidence

8. Water harvesting technologies for surface runoff. Such constructions have resulted in
supplemental irrigation yield enhancement by over 22% (Ali et al. 2017). In a
HDP (5m x 5m) of ArkaNeelachalKesri in Eastern
Mango in rainfed areas face water shortage
India, cup-and-plate system of rainwater harvesting
during critical stages. Harvesting of rain water holds
and mulching with paddy straw has resulted in
promise to provide the much needed water at critical
maximum increase in fruit yield (Samant et al. 2015).
growth stages of mango and/or crops grown on orchard
Such several ways of rainwater harvested in mango
floors. Several examples of success of rainwater
orchards are in place in several regions. ‘Jalkund’, a
harvest under mango systems have been reported. In
rainwater harvesting structure(8.0 m long, 6.0 m wide
Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), farm pond water is used
and 1.5 m high) can store H”72,000 l water for
for supplemental irrigation in mango (Kumar etal.,
irrigating H”0.2 ha crop area through drip. Such
2016). Similarly in a one hectare model 35 year old
practices can result in exceptional benefits through
Alphonso mango based farming system developed at
enhanced productivity of mango and intercrops as well
IIHR, Bengaluru under NICRA has shown that it is
(Verma et al. 2013).
possible to harvest water received during early
monsoon period for irrigating intercrops during mid Insitu moisture conservation in orchard also
monsoon dry periods. Further the water harvested from facilitate in achieving more fruits per drop of water.
the rains received during receding SW monsoon and Mulchingwith farm wastes or polythene improves soil
further during cyclones during NE monsoon benefit moisture availability, moderates soil temperature,
the crops during post monsoon period (Manjunath reduces the erosive impact of rainfall, suppresses weed
etal.2018-NICRA work). In hot semi-arid areas of growth and improves SOC after decomposition. In
Karnataka micro-catchments constructed in half-moon Gulabkhas plantation on an acidic (pH: 5.2) red lateritic
shape (semi-circular) across mango trees capture soils of Odisha mulching with paddy straw or grass
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 Ganeshamurthy et al

Fig. 5. Jalkund Fig. 6. Half-moon shaped micro-catchment

(each at 1 kg m-2) enhanced soil moisture availability wick can be added to the pitcher. A study conducted
and fruit yield (Kumar et al.2008). Further at at Rahuri revealed that provision of 2 pitchers of 4 l
Mohanpur, West Bengal, organic mulching and deficit capacity and 2-days irrigation interval was superior
irrigation (30 l water tree-1 at 10 days interval) over other treatments with regard to in situ
increased Amrapali fruit yield by 2.5-times over control establishment of mango rootstock. Pitcher irrigation
(Singh etal.2014). Similarly mulching and pre-harvest ensured 96% survival in mango saplings of cv. Kesar
sprays together can extend the quality and storability under south Gujarat. Provision of one pitcher of 10 l
of mango fruits. Borax (1.0%) spray and polythene capacity filled weekly could save as much as 50%
mulch improved yield and quality (TSS and total irrigation water.
sugars) of Dashehari fruits. Substitution of borax with
CaCl2 (2.0%),  however,  was  better  in  extending  the Drip irrigation and fertigation : Irrigation to mango
fruit shelf-life by arresting the physiological loss in crop is still under controversial situation in India.
weight (PLW) (Singh etal.2012). Generally, it is taken for granted that mango tree does
not require an irrigation and can survive on rainfall
Pitcher irrigation : It is probably the poor farmers (700 to 800 mm during June to September).However,
drip irrigation, but less expensive to install. The pitchers irrigation to mango orchards has shown the beneficial
are the round earthen containers used in rural areas effect that the tree bears fruits earlier i.e. 6 year
for water storage, ranging from 10 to 20 liters in onwards the number of fruits and fruit size is increased.
capacity. This is a highly efficient traditional method in Similarly the effective fertigationprogramme of giving
which unglazed porous earthen pots containing water NPK nutrition becomes easier through drip irrigation.
are buried under the soil to provide controlled irrigation Management of drip irrigation is of prime importance
to plants. Water slowly moves out through the wall to in mango orchards. As drip irrigation is new and
meet the plant’s water requirement. In certain cases, advanced method, its proper management is a very
pitcher irrigation may outperform drip irrigation in important aspect. In drip irrigation, the drippers operate
WUE. This kind of irrigation is ideal for establishing at a slow rate; usually the discharge matches the soil
orchards for saplings, promoting deep root growth and infiltration rate which neither allows surface flooding
to supply water at critical stages to crops during nor the runoff, making water losses minimal. Fertilizers
drought. It is also very good irrigation. Soluble fertilizers and nutrients are also applied through this system and
can also be mixed with water and applied through the their losses made minimal by localized application and
pitcher as fertigation. It can also permit sustained use reduced percolation. The system can irrigate irregular
of saline irrigation water. Pot irrigation and mulching shaped fields and orchards on sloppy land without
with coconut husk/crop residues is a popular practice leveling the land as it is a prerequisite for basin, border
for raising mangoes in parts of rainfedAlfisols of and furrow irrigation methods. It also minimizes soil
southern India. If the water used for irrigation has erosion and labour cost by regulating water through
high salinity, the pitcher location should be changed valves and drippers. The foliage remains dry thus
every 3 years. To increase the depth of irrigation, a reducing the risk of diseases. This method is usually
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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

operated at lower pressure than other types of evapotranspiration (English and Raja, 1996).
pressurized irrigation systems such as sprinkler, thus Whereas partial root zone drying (PRD) is a novel
energy costs are also reduced. Drip irrigation of mango and innovative water-saving irrigation strategy that
invariably followed with fertigation. This benefited has been developed and tested in fruit crops. Deficit
mango with timely supply of plant nutrients in required Irrigation (DI) and PRD have been applied to many
proportions. Some of the experiences of drip irrigation crop species. The stress that develops has minimal
in mango is listed in Table 8. These experiences at effects on the ultimate yield of the crop. PRD is
different locations fortifies that drip irrigation can therefore a modification of DI whereby half of the
benefit mango in enhancing the productivity and root zone is irrigated while the other half is allowed
enhancing the WUE. to dry out (Fig. 7).
Deficit irrigation(DI) and Partial root zone In alternate partial root zone drying irrigation
drying(PRD): DI is defined as an irrigation method (APRDI), the treatment is then reversed during the
in which the entire root zone is irrigated with a next irrigation cycle depending on the soil and climatic
smaller amount of water than the prospective conditions, so that the formerly wetted part of the root
system is allowed to dry to a predefined soil moisture

Table 8. Experiences of drip irrigation for higher fruit yield and better WUE.
Region Finding
”1
Central Indo Gangetic Plain Fruit yield was much higher (5.4 t ha ) in fertigation treatment compared to
3.6 t ha”1 when NPK was applied in tree basins.
Odisha DI at 80% WR and black plastic mulch resulted in the highest fruit yield (15.8 t ha-1)
in an Amrapali HDP (5 x 5 m) in clay loam soils. DI at 60 and 80% WR led to the
maximum WUE and the highest B: C ratio, respectively.
Chhattisgarh Maximum fruit yield and WUE in 15years old Dashehari orchard, 122% higher than
in basin irrigation, was recorded in DI at 60% WR.
Andhra Pradesh DI at 75% WR coupled with the application of 100% NPK (100 g each) and 75 kg
FYM tree-1 led to the highest net income in a Kesar HDP (6 x 5 m) in
semi-arid Alfisols
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Ultra High Density Plantation with 700 trees per acre (UHDP), the water use per tree
under Project Unnati is limited to 30-35 litres per month in the peak growing season of April-May. These
modern techniques are expected to enhance the produce by as high as 200%
compared to traditional plantation methods.

Fig. 7. Schematic representation of deficit irrigation and partial root zone drying
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 Ganeshamurthy et al

content and the dry part is allowed to be irrigated (Stoll even when none of the nutrients is below the critical
et al., 2000). In fixed partial root zone drying irrigation level through an imbalance index (Baldock and Schulte,
(FPRDI) the irrigation water is applied to a fixed root 1996). This method also has the ability to diagnose the
side during the entire growing season while keeping plant nutrient needs much earlier in the life of the crop
the other side in a dry condition. A goodnumber of than the critical level method allowing remedial steps
research has been carried out to study the effects of to be taken earlier with greater accuracy while
PRD on yield, water use efficiency, quality and providing a means of simultaneously identifying
production of mango. Recently, some studies have imbalances, deficiencies and excesses in crop nutrients
shown that irrigation water volumes in mango orchards and ranking them in the order of importance. DRIS
can further be reduced by adopting deficit irrigation and CND norms have been developed for important
(DFI) and partial root zone drying (PRD) techniques. commercial varieties ((Raghupathietal. 2005; Raj and
DI seems to be quite useful in semi-arid and humid Rao, 2006). A typical representation of the principle
areas where rainfall can meet crop WR at critical on which DRIS is based is presented in Fig.8. This is
stages and also leach the salts accumulated during the
irrigation season. Less utility of DI in arid climates
emanates from the fact that salinity may develop even
with the prolonged use of fresh water. In PRD, only
half of the root-system is irrigated while the rest half
is kept dry. Compared to control (irrigation at 100% of
ETc), PRD and DI methods of irrigation (50% of ETc
in each) led to much higher WUE in 14-years old ‘Chok
Anan’ trees in Regosols (high stone content, low WHC)
of Thailand. Due to marginal yield reduction, trees in
deficit irrigation treatments showed considerably higher
WUE reflecting water saving of 30-50% (Spreeret al.,
2009). In semi-arid Bahia region of Brazil (H”650 mm
annual rainfall), RDI (50% ETc) in 9-y old Tommy
Fig. 8. Relationship between nutrient
Atkins trees (8.0 x 8.0 m; sandy loam eutrophic
expression and yield
FluvicNeoSol) did not affect fruit productivity and
quality (Cotrimetal.2011). SDI treatment providing
50% of ETc is recommended for the higher yield (18.4 based on the division of population into high yielding
t ha-1) and WUE (7.14 kg m-3) in coastal Mediterranean and low yielding orchards on a generalized cutoff yield
areas of Spain (Zuazoetal.2011). We lack in such level of the crop. Nonetheless, this approach suffers
information from India. There is need to generate from some limitations and may not provide valid results.
information on DI and PRD in mango for better Despite this mango researchers are increasingly using
utilization of available water. DRIS for optimum nutrient management in mango.
However, DRIS enables the simultaneous identification
9. Nutrient Management - DRIS norms of nutrient imbalances, deficiencies and excesses fairly
Several approaches are being adopted for independent of leaf age and other effects. DRIS indices
nutritional diagnosis of fruit crops using leaf analysis more precisely detect yield limiting nutrients compared
including the critical value approach (CVA) and the to the conventional critical nutrient concentrations
sufficiency range approach (SRA) and the recent (range) method and are found to be sensitive to both
being the Diagnosis and Recommendation Integration long- and short-term fertilizer management practices.
System-DRIS (Beaufils, 1973). DRIS uses nutrient
Secondary and Micronutrient management
ratios and the nutritional balancing concept for
interpretation of tissue analysis. This method is more Calcium
precise in the detection of nutritional deficiencies or/ Calcium is relatively a low mobility element in
and excesses (Beaufils, 1973). The DRIS can also plant tissues. Hence the deficiency symptoms of this
detect cases of low yield due to nutrient imbalance, element are first seen in young leaves. In other species,

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the calcium deficiency symptoms are similar to those is expressed as initial cupping of young leaves with
of boron, although they show a better distribution marginal necrosis (Fig. 9 A & B), poor fruit set
between young and old leaves. Calcium deficiency and retention and severe fruit drop. Since calcium
symptoms in mango is seldomly observed since the is involved in mobility of boron in plants, deficiency
availability of calcium in soil in most cases is not of calcium and boron often overlap (Ganeshamurthy
restricted and it is supplied through application of et al. 2016a).
mineral and organic fertilizers.Calcium deficiency

A B
Fig. 9.Showing calcium deficiency in mango. Symptoms first appear on young leaves with fading of green colour.
Growth is stunted. Leaf tip remains green and with severe deficiency the whole leaf turns yellow.

Magnesium be in the range 0.15 - 0.4 % of dry matter.

Symptoms of deficiency (Fig. 10 A,B,C)) first
Magnesium being a part of the chlorophyll is
appear on recently matured leaves with fading of
basically involved in photosynthesis. Relative to
green colour. Chlorosis starts from leaf tip and
other major fruit crops, mango is a very magnesium
spreads along the margins inwards in an inverted
demanding crop. An adequate magnesium supply
“V” shape. Under severe deficiency the leaves have
ensures sufficient sugar production and translocation
yellowish br own chlor osis and pr ematur e
to the developing fruit. Hence, it plays an important
defoliation. Tree growth becomes stunted and fruit
role in mango fruit quality, as the edible portion of
yield and quality in terms of fruit colour, shape and
the mango fruit contains approximately 15 % sugar.
size gets reduced. In northern plains where there is
The tree requires magnesium for optimal root
excess calcium in soil, magnesium deficiency is
growth, especially during the unbearing phaseand
expressed as leaf bronzing starting from the edge
underdeveloped root systems are more prone to
of the leaf rounded margin between each pair of
nutrient deficiency and water stress. Because of
lateral veins exhibiting a green wedge down the
this magnesium influences the yield potential of
central part (Ganeshamurthy et al. 2016a).
trees. The optimum leaf concentration for Mg should

A B C
Fig. 10. (A,B,C) Showing magnesium deficiency in mango (A) initial fading of green colour of recently matured
leaves, (B) showing chlorosis beginning from leaf tip descending down along the margins and (C) severe yellowish
brown leaf discoloration beginning from leaf tip and showing symptoms of defoliation.

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Sulphur The soil sulphur status map is presented in

Fig. 12. Out of 111 districts, no information on soil
Sulphur deficiency symptoms in mango is sulphur status is available for 44 districts spread evenly
seldomly observed since the application of mineral in different regions. Sulphurdeficiency in soils is noticed
and organic fertilizers to the soil is usually sufficient in 34 districts and an equal number (33) of districts
to guarantee the needed levels of sulphur to the were reported sufficient in available sulphur. In case
plants. Sometimes, even pesticides provide mango of deficiency it is better to use a sulphur containing
with the needed S levels. Sulphur is relatively a low phosphorus or potassium fertilizers rather than applying
mobility element in plant tissues. Hence the sulphur separately. Foliar spray of sulphate of
deficiency symptoms of this element are first seen potassium can also be taken up.
in young leaves. In other species, the sulphur
deficiency symptoms are similar to those of nitrogen,
although they show a better distribution between
young and old leaves. Generally sulphur deficiency
occurs during new flush period. As a result it is a
practical difficulty to notice sulphur deficiency in
mango at this stage because the leaf colour slowly
change from copper pink to green via yellow. The
symptoms are seen first in the young tissues since
sulphur is not redistributed to young leaves.
Deficient plants show general loss of green colour
of the foliage with symptoms first appearing on
young leaves (Fig. 11), leaf tip remains green and
with severe deficiency the whole leaf turns yellow.
Tree growth is generally stunted, fruits develop
unattr active colour and become tasteless
(Ganeshamurthy et al. 2016a).

Fig. 12. Sulphur fertility status of

mango growing regions of India

Zinc : Zinc is one of the most wide spread

micronutrient deficiencies in mango. The main zinc
deficiency symptom is exhibited in the leaves which
become small, narrow, curved, thick and inflexible.
Between veins a speckled brown chlorosis is sometimes
seen (Fig. 13 (A, B, C). The branches produce few
secondary branches and the internodes are of short
length and these results in rosette appearance. Floral
malformation and/or vegetative malformation or “witch
broom” may, in part, be associated with zinc deficiency
since the plants emit small, irregular, multiple and
Fig 11. Showing sulphur deficiency in mango. Symptoms distorted panicles. Zinc deficiency may be more severe
first appear on young leaves with in fertile soils, in calcareous and limed soils or of
fading of green colour. Growth is stunted. Leaf tip
orchards receiving high amounts of phosphorous
remains green and with severe deficiency
the whole leaf turns yellow.
fertilizers (Ganeshamurthy etal. 2016a).

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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

A B C
Fig. 13(A,B,C). Zinc deficiency in mango(A&B) showing interveinalchlorosis with veins remaining green and
(C) field view of a zinc deficiency showing emerging little leaves

Soil statu s of zinc and appear ance of demand for zinc exceeds supply rate from the soil.
deficiency in mango donot match closely. Out of Being immobile retranslocation from older leaves
111 mango districts, soils in 60% of area (67 districts) or woody part is slow. As a result the deficiency is
are well supplied with zinc. Only 33% area(33 exhibited both as hidden hunger and expressed as
districts) shows deficient levels of soil zinc (Fig.14). leaf symptoms. Foliar application of zinc corrects
such deficiencies.
Management of zinc
Continuous soil application of zinc leads to its
accumulation in the soil leading to nutrient imbalance
in the soil. Further the uptake of foliar applied zinc
in mango is more rapid than that of soil applied zinc.
Hence foliar application is preferred over soil
application. Zinc deficiency in mango, can be
ameliorated by foliar application of zinc sulphate.
Spray the plants with 0.25-0.5% zinc sulphate
solution (250-500g zinc sulphate per 100 litres of
water depending upon severity of deficiency) after
monsoon rains just(October-November) and repeat
the spray before panicle emergence. However, in
some places where new flush emerges late, the
spray should be done in June and if further delayed
flush appears then zinc sulphate should be sprayed
during August-September. Apart from this in mango,
zinc deficiency becomes acute immediately after
Fig. 14. Zinc fertility status of mango first fruit set on plants; therefore one maintenance
growing regions of India
spray of 0.3% zinc sulphate solution may be given
in pre-monsoon from the third year of planting. Arka
However, no information is available for seven Mango special developed by IIHR may be used at
districts, one each in UP(J.P. Nagar) and Karnataka 5g per litre to correct zinc deficiency in addition to
(Bengaluru-urban) and five in West Bengal(Malda, other micronutrient deficiencies. Those growers
West Midnapor e& East Midnapor e, Pur ulia, who wish to apply Zn to soil may apply one kg zinc
Birbhum). Zinc deficiency occurs during peak
sulphate per tree once in two to three years.
growth period or fruit development stage when the
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Manganese
Manganese deficiency in mango is uncommon.
But if exists then manganese deficiency may be the
cause of reduced growth in mango plants. The first
symptoms are seen in young leaves. A yellowish green
colour develops in the leaf background with the veins
keeping their green colour (Fig. 15). In manganese

Fig. 16. Manganese fertility status of

mango growing regions of India

Fig. 15. Mango tree showing manganese deficiency. deficiency foliar application of 0.2% manganese
The tree show a yellowish green background with a fine sulphate may be adopted rather than soil application.
network of green veins on the upper surface and Arka Mango special developed by IIHR may be used
disappearing after a few weeks mature and leaves become
at 5g per litre to correct Mn deficiency in addition to
thicker and blunted. Specks of light grey to grayish
brown colour appear under mid deficiency. other micronutrient deficiencies.

deficient leaves, the green veins are little wider than Copper
those of the iron deficient leaves. Under severe Copper is seldom deficient in mango plants not
manganese deficiency, there develops a generalized only because mango demand for copper is low but
yellowing of the young leaves followed by a necrosis also because several of the fungicides used in diseases
of the leaf blade tip. Manganese deficiency in mango control have copper in their formula. Usually copper
may be expected in soils which have received lime deficiency symptoms are seen in young plants, or in
and high doses of P fertilizers as Mnavailability in the buds of adult plants, which were submitted to high
soil is reduced under such situations (Ganeshamurthy doses of nitrogenous fertilizers. In copper deficient
et al. 2016a). plants the development of S-shaped long and tender
branches and downward curved leaves have been
Soil status of available manganese is presented observed (Fig. 17). In branches, the eruption of blisters
in Fig 16. Soils in only three districts viz., Saharanpur which sometimes exudates a gummy substance is one
in UP, Vaishali in Bihar, Dindigul in Tamil Nadu showed of the symptoms of copper deficiency. The terminal
manganese deficiency. The remaining 108 districts branches mainly those S-shaped that developed in the
showed adequate supply of soil manganese. preceding year may undergo progressive death
(Ganeshamurthy et al. 2016a).
Management of manganese
Manganese deficiency is not common in Similar to manganese, soil available copper is
mangos. However, hidden hunger might be there in sufficient in 90 districts out of 111 districts. Soils in
sandy and light textured neutral to alkaline soils. Many only five districts were reported deficient in available
fungicides and insecticides used in mango contain copper. However, no information is available for 16
traces of manganese. This partially meets the districts, mostly spread in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
manganese requirement of the trees. In case of West Bengal (Fig. 18).

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Iron
Iron deficiency in mango appears under
several situations across the country. Iron deficiency
occurs on trees grown on calcareous soils and those
orchards receiving high bicarbonate water. Iron
deficiency is very unlikely in southern peninsular
region, Konkan region, North Eastern region with
the exception of some soils with free calcium
car bonates or bicar bonate r ich water s in
Chitturdistrict of Telangana and Nuzividu area of
Andhra Pradesh. Sometimes in poorly drained soils
excessive doses of manganese may cause iron to
Fig. 17. Mango plant showing copper deficiency.Shoots become unavailable to plants. If orchards receive
produced on long drooping S-shaped branches of very high doses of P fertilizers, then iron deficiency
previous growth are weak, lose foliage and die back. may appear. Iron deficiency is initially perceived in
young leaves where a typical chlorosis develops
forming a green reticulate following the framework
of the leaf nervures(veins) which is highlighted by
the yellowish leaf blade. Severely affected leaves
are of a light yellow showing none to very few green
veins. Branch drying may occur under very severe
deficiency conditions (Fig. 19).

Fig. 18. Copper fertility status of

mango growing regions of India Fig. 19. Mango plant showing iron deficiency. Deficiency starts with
the youngest and emerging leaves as dark yellow or white leaves.
Continued deficiency causes necrosis of leaves.
Management of copper
Copper deficiency is not common in mangos. Soil status of iron and appearance of deficiency
However, hidden hunger might be there in high organic in mango donot match closely. Out of 111 mango
matter soils and sandy and light textured neutral to districts, soils in 82% of area (91 districts) are well
alkaline soils. As already stated many fungicides and supplied with iron. Only 8% area(9 districts) shows
insecticides used in mango contain traces of copper. deficient levels of soil iron. However, no information
This partially meets the copper requirement of the trees. is available for eleven districts (Fig.20), in UP (J.P.
In case of deficiency foliar application of 0.2% copper Nagar, Mathura), Karnataka (Belgaum, Dharwad,
sulphate may be adopted rather than soil application. Bengaluru (urban)), Telangana (Nizamabad), Gujarat
Arka Mango special developed by IIHR may be used (Surath) and West Bengal (West Midnapore & East
at 5g per litre to correct Cu deficiency in addition to Midnapore, Birbhum, Purulia,). Iron deficiency occurs
other micronutrient deficiencies. during peak growth period, during first rains or fruit

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Iron fertilizer formulations are available that can

correct chlorosis; however, the required application
rate and frequency make the treatment expensive.
Inorganic sources of Fe such as ferrous sulfate
(FeSO4) are not effective unless applied at extremely
high rates; these sources should not be used on
calcareous soils. The most popular synthetic organically
chelated forms of Fe include Fe-EDTA, Fe-HEDTA,
Fe-DTPA, and Fe-EDDHA. The effectiveness of
these fertilizers varies greatly, depending on soil pH.
Fe-DTPA may be used on mildly alkaline soils (with
pH values of 7.5 or less), whereas Fe-EDDHA is the
chelate of choice for use on highly calcareous soils
(with a pH value greater than 7.5). The mango special
developed by IIHR, Bengaluru is a proven product that
corrects both hidden and expressed iron deficiency in
mango. This can be used as a foliar spray @5 grams
per litre during flowering season.
Boron
Fig. 20. Iron fertility status of mango growing
Mango is one crop which is very susceptible to
regions of India boron deficiency. Its manifestation varies greatly from
cultivar to cultivar. Boron deficiency symptoms occur
development stage when the demand for iron exceeds first in the young parts of the plant while toxicity is
supply rate from the soil. Being immobile in tissue, seen at the extremities of the older leaves. Boron
retranslocation from older leaves or woody part is slow. deficiency causes leaf growth reduction and the
As a result the deficiency is exhibited both as hidden intermediate leaves of the vegetative flux show a
hunger and as expressed leaf symptoms. High soil suede brown colour. The apical bud usually dies and
bicarbonate, calcium carbonate and irrigating with with dying shoot tips, excessive lateral budding is
bicarbonate rich water causes iron deficiency common, resulting in a cluster of secondary branches,
eventhough the soil status may be high in such cases (Fig. 21 A,B,C,D). The panicles show a reduced size
(Ganeshamurthyetal.2016a). and bear a smaller number of hermaphrodite flowers
and this leads to a lower number of fruits. Retention
Management of iron
of fruit is drastically reduced, retained fruits become
Iron chlorosis in mango is a production constraint misshaped and gives an ugly look. Fruits of some of
for trees grown on calcareous soils. Application of iron the varieties of mangos with boron deficiency occur in
to such soils may not be fruitful unless a chelated form a small number and these fruits may develop brown
of iron is applied. Foliar application of iron will be colour. In severe cases fruits with collapsed tissues
necessary to grow a healthy tree on these soil types. are frequently found and these symptoms have been

A B C D
Fig. 21 (A,B,C,D). Boron deficiency in mango(A) showing dying shoot tips, (B) Poor fruit set and
retention, (C) field view of fruit dorp and (D) fruit cracking

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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

designated as “internal fruit necrosis”. These symptoms relative to boron supply may also cause boron
start with a dark green colour located at the fruit apex deficiency even under adequate boron supply. Hence
which evolves with time to give the whole fruit a dark before undertaking remedies, leaf analysis is essential.
brown colour. The internal tissues of the fruit show
Management of boron
signs of disintegration and become of a dark brown
colour what, sometimes, is followed by the oozing of a Though appearance of boron deficiency in
gummy exudation. The adequate dose of boron is mango is very common, farmers seldom take corrective
important since the difference between deficiency and measures. If properly applied correction of boron
excess is very small. Boron toxicity causes leaves to deficiency is very easy. Applying B to the soil can
become with blighted margins and fall rather easily, provide unsatisfactory results during dry seasons and
this being possible to occur between vegetative fluxes may result in toxicity problems. Basal application of
following the application of excessive doses of boron boron through broadcast on surface soil is better than
fertilizers. Toxicity symptoms may be attenuated by top dressing in boron deficient soils. Caution should be
applying soluble forms of other nutrients to soil, exercised in its soil application as continuous soil
increasing soil pH by the application of lime or application leads to its accumulation and reaches toxic
nitrogenous fertilizers although these measures may levels in short periods. It is better to supply boron to
affect productivity (Ganeshamurthy et al. 2016a). mango trees through foliage as foliar sprays of 0.2 per
cent borax or boric acid solution were found efficient
Soil availability status of boron indicated that out in mango.Because of its greater solubility, boric acid
of 111 mango districts, no information is available for might be preferred over borax for foliar spray
58% of the area (64 districts). Data from 19 districts application. The spray may be applied either on
showed deficient levels of hot water soluble boron. recently matured flush orduring flowering. The
However, only 28 district soils showed sufficiency in applicator should be careful not to apply more than the
boron supply (Figure 22). Deficiency of boron can recommended amount because any excess amount
be easily corrected through foliar feeding. Many a would result in B toxicity. The mango special
times an imbalance in potassium and calcium supply developed by IIHR, Bengaluru is a proven product that
corrects both hidden and expressed boron deficiency
in mango. This can be used as a foliar spray @5 grams
per litre during flowering season.
Molybdenum
Molybdenum as an essential element and is
necessary for the activator of enzymes in respiration.
It also has a role in the protein synthesis. Mo is also
essential for auxin synthesis and can act as electron
carriers in enzyme systems bringing about oxidation-
reduction reactions.
Generally Mo is not a limiting factor in mango
production. No reported Mo deficiency is reported
from anywhere in the country. However, fully matured
leaf should contain Mo in the range of 0.05 to
0.10ppm.Unless leaf analysis shows deficiency it is
advisable to avoid application or spray of Mo in
mango(Ganeshamurthyetal.2016a).
Nutrient Toxicity Symptoms : Black tip is a disorder
caused mainly due to exposure of the trees to high
Fig. 22. Boron fertility status of mango growing concentrations of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide,
regions of India ethylene and fluorides. This disorder has generally
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 Ganeshamurthy et al

been detected in orchards located in the vicinity of end. As the problem continues the oozing of a brown
brick kilns. Hence it is mainly accounted for the liquid starts and finally the entire fruit gets affected
exposure of the trees to SO2 and CO. But excess and drops.
fluoride and excess ethylene has also been found to
induce similar symptoms. Generally these symptoms Management of black tip: Farmers must avoid
are seen trees growing near the brick kilns which brick kilns near mango orchards maintaining at least 5-
normally emit these gases (Fig. 23). Apart from these 6 km. from the brick kilns. If brick kilns are already
there then planting must be avoided near the kilns.
Affected trees must be sprayed with alkaline solutions
to neutralize the effects. Two to three sprays of one
per cent borax at 10 to 15 days interval beginning with
marble size fruits helps minimizing the effect. If boron
concentration in tree is already normal or high then it is
advisable to spray two to three times 0.6-0.8% caustic
soda or caustic potash or even 0.3-0.5% washing soda
after complete fruit set (Ganeshamurthy etal. 2016a).
Chloride and sodium injury
Figure 23. Black tip on mango fruits showing flattened Trees growing near sea shore or irrigated with
and sunken black necrosis at the distal end of the fruits high chloride water show symptoms of chloride toxicity.
factors, irrigation, condition of the tree and management The leaves of such trees show marginal necrosis starting
practices also play important role in deciding the from tip extending along the margins. Excess boron
severity of the disorder. Symptoms are seen mainly on application also shows similar symptoms
the fruits starting from marble stage. Symptoms appear (Fig. 24). A leaf analysis will distinguish the reasons
as flattened and sunken black necrosis at the distal for the leaf necrosis. In severe cases the branches of

A B
Fig. 24. Showing (A) chloride injury of leaves as necrosis of the leaf margins and
(B) sodium injury showing dieback symptoms.

the trees show die back symptomsIn such cases avoid economic inefficiency, damage to the environment
irrigation with chloride rich water and donot apply any and in certain situations, harm the trees themselves
boron fertilizers either as soil application or foliar spray and also to human being who consume fruits from
(Ganeshamurthy etal. 2016a). these tr ees . INM involves maint ainance or
adjustment of tree nutrient supply to an optimum
10. Integrated Nutrient Management level for sustaining the desired fruit productivity. It
The continuous use or excess supply of involves proper combination of chemical fertilizers,
inor ganic fertilizer s as source of nutr ient in organic manures, crop residues, N fixing crops, and
imbalanced proportion is a problem, causing biofertilizers suitable to the system of land use and

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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

ecological, social and economic situations. It has a for all mango varieties and has shown positive effect
definite edge over conventional inorganic fertilizers in enhancing fr uit qua lity in ter ms of fr uit
alone. The main goals of INM are to maintain soil appearance fruit keeping quality and taste.
productivity, ensuring sustainable mango production.
It utilizes the potential benefits of green manures, 11. Organic Mango Cultivation
cr op r esidue recycling and biofer tilizers and
Mango is a candidate crop for organic production
preventsany degradation of environment. It satisfies
as the demand for nutrients by mango is very limited.
the social and economic aspirations of the mango
Organic farming is a production method which
farmers without harming the natural resource base.
encourages sustainable mango production through
INM enhances the availability of nutrients and the
natural biological cycles. It is targeted at producing
release rate is matched with the crop demand for
healthy, nutritive, pollution free mangos by minimizing
nutrients. It encourages the synergistic interaction
the use resources from outside the system and
of soil microbs and other soil fauna and minimizes
generating resources and their use of on farm
the loss of nutrients by striking a balance between
resources. In this system it avoids the use of chemical
immobilization and mineralization.
fertilizers and pesticides. Information on extent of
Under INM, integrated use of organic and organic mango production is not available. However
inorganic inputs can partly reduce the dependence few stray examples of organic mango production by
on costly chemical fertilizers while improving soil individual farmers and NGOs are reported from
quality and fruit yields. Literature available are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra and Tamil
unanimous with regard to tangible improvements in Nadu. In the last few years, H” 300-400 tonnes of
fruit yield and, in certain cases, fruit quality with mangoes are being organically produced in Krishnagiri
the conjunctive applications of fertilizers and organic district of Tamil Nadu. For the existing mango orchards,
inputs (Gautametal.2012; Hasan et al., 2013; Singh a minimum of three years is required as conversion
etal., 2015; Yadav et al., 2009). NPK fertilizers period for organic cultivation. To start organic mango
and FYM are the common components of INM production one has to either start afresh or convert an
plans in mango; main difference lies in the selection existing orchard into an organic orchard. This requires
of microbial inoculants(s) suggesting that a single procedures to be followed for organic certification.
product may not be effective under var ying Conversion from a conventional system to an organic
situations. The microbial consortium developed by system involves changes to existing management
IIHR has been found to have wide adoptability in practices and adoption of a new strategy and
expressing benefits across the agro ecological techniques. Some of the major changes required are
regions of mango cultivation. After a particular INM in pest and disease control strategies, nutrient
recommendation has been found effective, local management, weed control, flowering, and postharvest
farmers must be sensitized for its large-scale management. All these can be achieved through
adoption. Subsequently, impact evaluation studies transformation from a conventional system to an
should be conducted to understand the changes, organic system of growing mangoes. While converting
inter alia, in yields, income and soil fertility so that the existing orchard to organic system farmers must
desirable modifications/improvements can be made develop strategies tailored to their situation through
for maximizing the benefits. INM inputs contains close observation, anticipation and prevention to
different secondary (Mg and S) and micronutrients develop a robust and productive organic system. While
(Zn, B, Fe, Cu, Mo) that are effective in enhancing doing so care should be taken to consider and integrate
mango fruit yield and quality in Zn and B deficient the following three points:
alfisols of peninsular India. IIHR has come out with
 Organic systems are biological systems.
a mango specific micronutrient formulation called
“Arka Mango Special”. Three foliar sprays at  Organic farms should operate as closed systems
flower bud differentiation, flower initiation and as far as possible.
marble stage of fruit growth significantly improve
fruit retention, yield and fruit quality (TSS, TSS/acid  Soil health largely determines plant health.
ratio) in acidic soils of Odisha. This is recommended
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As with other organic farming, mango Maharashtra. Some of the research findings on
production requires a whole-farm approach. Many of carbon sequestration in mango based agroforestry
the best management practices developed for systems in India is summar ized in Table 9.
conventional mango production apply to organic However, the data is based on general allometric
systems. Efficient irrigation, windbreaks, erosion equations meant for polyembrionic trees and hence
control, and aspects of integrated pest management this must be looked at with caution.
(IPM) or integrated weed management (IWM) may
be adapted to suit an organic production system. Way Forward
Periodic analysis of both soil and fruits for hazard Recent efforts in doubling of agricultural
analysis and critical control points must be undertaken. production have been successful through intensification
A well designed whole-farm plan should devote special leading to increased yields per unit area. The potential
attention to the conversion phase – the first three years for a further doubling in yields now attracts increasing
of transition from conventional to organic management. attention and research. There is need to revitalize yield
Availability of bio-control methods for pest-diseases growth in a sustainable manner by reducing the inputs
management and chemical-free postharvest treatments and using fewer resources. The current trend is to
further increase the scope of organic mango farming; focus on ecological intensification, sustainable
especially in marginal areas where little or no agro- intensification and evergreen revolution. Constraints
chemicals are applied. are bound to occur in the way including land and water,
environmental degradation and climate change. A two
12. Mango orchards for carbon sequestration
way schematic representation of how we must
Carbon sequestration is the process by which approach the issue of enhancing the productivity and
carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere is yield of mango without degrading the environment is
absorbed by trees through photosynthesis and stored presented in fig. 25. We must adopt suboptimal tree
as carbon in tree biomass such as tree trunks, and soil management practices to enhance the
branches, foliage, roots and soils (EPA, 2010). The productivity and income of the farmers. The challenge
amount of carbon sequestered by trees and soils is is how to apply good governance using existing
a tool for determining the sustainability and agricultural sciences and technologies without affecting
environmental impact of carbon on ecosystems. the needed advances in tree productivity and yield.
Carbon sequestration rates vary by tree species,
soil type, r egional climate, topogr aphy and We must aim at a new trajectory for achieving
management practice. Fruit crop orchards are seen our goal of doubling the farmers income through
as the alternative way to help solve effects resulting enhancing the productivity and yield of mango. In
fr om the depletion of the forest thr ough the this dir ection we must focus on two main
degradation and deforestation of forest in order to components. (i) the development of integrated soil-
replace the lost forest and increase the reservoir orchard systems management, which will address
base for carbon sequestration. Mango being the key constraints in existing tree management, and
most important fruit crop of India and occupying (ii) look for new ways that offer higher yields but
the largest area under fruit crops, the ability of use less water, fertilizer or other inputs and insulate
mango plantation to sequester carbon needs special against drought, heat, submersion, and pests and
attention. A national data base of car bon diseases. Conservation horticulture holds the key.
sequestered by mango orchards forms the basis for Efforts must be made to create awareness among
claiming carbon credits. Estimation of CS potential mango farmers and popularize the concept of
of fr uit or char ds was hinder ed by lack of conservation horticulture to achieve the goal of
methodologies for non-distructive estimation of tree enhanced mango productivity and yields.
biomass until Ganeshamurthy et al. (2016c) Application and extension of existing
developed the allometric equation for the grafted technologies countrywide
mangos. They have also estimated the carbon stocks
Mango is national fruit and deserves a nationwide
of Konkan mango orchards(8.7 million tonnes)
attention to achieve the top position in the world to
covering the Konkan area of Karnataka, Goa and
retain the title of national fruit and to help the farmers
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 Enhancing mango productivity through sustainable resource management

Table 9. Examples of carbon sequestration in mango orchards across India.

Region Finding Reference
Poanta valley, Total SOC pool was highest in forest land (1373.7 t ha-1) Khaki
Himachal Pradesh followed by horti-silvipastoral (mango + poplar + et al. (2016)
grasses; 719.6 t ha-1) and least in silvi-pastoral system
(Dalbergiasissoo + grasses; 599.10 t ha-1)
Mollisols, Uttarakhand Organically managed pulse crops (LTFE), mango and Bhattacharjya
Dalbergia systems were found to be the most sustainable et al. (2017)
land use systems. Mango orchard soils had the highest
total carbon (23.25 g kg”1) and total organic carbon
(23.21 g kg”1)
Central Himalayan Total C-sequestration in mango (15 y; 100 trees ha-1) Kanime
Tarai region was 21.4 t ha-1 compared to only H”6.5 t ha-1 in et al.(2013)
both litchi (7 y; 100 trees ha-1) and plum (5 y; 400 trees
ha-1) which seemed to be due to their low
C-sequestration rates (0.94 and 1.28 t ha-1 y-1,
respectively) than 1.43 t ha-1 y-1 in mango.
Tamil Nadu Highest TOC was recorded in teak soils (0.69-1.11%) Selvaraj
followed by mango (0.64-0.85 %), sapota (0.36-1.07 %) et al. (2016)
and coconut (0.57-0.81 %) at 0-20 cm depth in 20-years
old trees.
Eastern plateau region In 6-y old litchi, mango and guava orchards (5 × 5 m), Naik
the maximum total SOC in 0-60 cm depth was noted in et al.(2017)
mango (62.47 Mg ha”1) that was 17.2 % higher over
control. The higher total SOC in mango orchards
may be attributed to the higher amount and quality of
mango litter.

Fig 25. A two way schematic representation of approaches to enhance the productivity and yield of mango

to make profit from mango orchards. Available orchard management by farmers. We must focus on
evidence suggests that the yield gap between average a mission mode to adopt the available technologies of
farm yields and the experiments yield on research orchard management across the country to enhance
farms are derived from factors such as: (i) low the productivity, yield and profitability of mango
profitability of mango production; (ii) limited access to orchards and achieving the goal of doubling the income
new orchard technologies, and (iii) poor soil and of mango farmers by 2022.
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 Ganeshamurthy et al

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(MS Received 29 April 2018, Revised 13 May 2018, Accepted 27 June 2018)

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