Transcript Cultural Practices under INM in Mango Introduction

Cultural Practices under INM in Mango
Introduction
Maintenance of good sanitary
condition is a must for keeping
mango orchard in healthy and
disease free. Hence, cultural
operations should be carried out in
such a way so that they may help to
maintain fertility status of soil. That
can be done by mulching, growing
of green manuring and leguminous
crops, timely weed management and
intercropping etc.
Thus the knowledge of
intercultural operations
needed for maintaining
sanitary conditions and
effective management of
mango orchard is
required .
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to :
Explain the suitable cultural practices
for improving nutrient status of the
soil in mango orchards.
Inter cropping
Inter crops such as vegetables,
legumes, short duration and
dwarf fruit crops depending on
the agro-climatic factors of the
region can be grown. The water
and nutrient requirements of the
inter crops must be met
separately.
Inter crops such as
vegetables, legumes,
short duration and dwarf
fruit crops depending on
the agro-climatic factors
of the region can be
grown. The water and
nutrient requirements of
the inter crops must be
met separately.
Leguminous crops like green
gram, black gram, gram etc.,
cereals like wheat, oilseeds like
mustard, sesame and groundnut
can be grown as intercrops in
non bearing orchards.
Inter cropping
Vegetable crops such
cabbage, cauliflower,
tomato, potato, brinjal,
cucumber, pumpkin,
bitter gourd, tinda,
lady’s finger etc. and
spices like chilies can
be grown as
intercrops.
The partial shade loving
crops like pineapple,
ginger, turmeric etc. can
be cultivated in fully
grown orchards.
Inter cropping
In addition to field crops, some
short duration , less exhaustive
and dwarf type inter- fillers like
papaya, guava, peach, plum etc.
can be grown till these do not
interfere with the main mango
crop .
The frequency and the
time of inter-culture
operations vary with age
of the orchards and
existence of inter-crops.
Intercultural Operations
It is advisable to break the
crust around tree trunk with
hoeing each time after
irrigations.
The area between the basins
should be ploughed at least
three times in a year i.e.
during the pre-monsoon,
post-monsoon period and in
the last week of November if
intercrops are taken.
Weed control
Root zone area of the
trees must be kept
weed free all the time.
Manual cultivation is
not recommended as it
will disturb active roots.
Weed killers with a
heavy mulch may be
quite effective in
controlling weeds.
Weed control
Apply paraquat (3.0 kg
a.i./ha) for effective
management of weeds.
Diuran at the rate of
9.0 kg/ha can also
be used as pre
emergence
treatment.
Weed control
Apply atrazine at 2.0 kg a.i./ha as pre
emergence treatment to soil and one
spray of paraquat as post emergence at
3.0 kg a.i./ha six months after soil
treatment is effective for controlling both
monocot and dicot weeds in mango
orchards.
Care should be taken to
avoid direct contact of
chemicals with plant
tissues.
Cover crops/green manuring crops
Besides intercrops, cover crops or
green manuring crops like
sunnhemp in light soils or dhaincha
in heavy soils may also be grown to
protect the orchard soil from erosion
and also enriching the soil fertility.
Mulching
Growing mango crop on mulch
results in partial canopy cover,
consequently, the energy balance
of both the mulch and the bare soil
between rows affect the exchange
of energy between the plant and
its environment.
Mulching is a process of
covering the soil around the
plant to create more favourable
conditions for growth and
production. It could be done
either with natural organic
material or synthetic material
like polythene.
Mulching
Rice straw, rice husk,
dried weed lopping,
saw dust etc. can be
used for mulching
purposes in mango
orchards.
Some materials like fresh
coir dust may be harmful
as the leachates from
these materials may
interfere with tree growth.
Care should be
taken to inspect
trees regularly for
any termite activity
after mulching.
Advantage of Mulching
Improves soil conditions
Conserve soil
Conserve moisture
Optimize soil temperature
Soil solarization
Weed control
Protect plants against
diseases/disorders