Introduction

Mango is considered the king of fruits, because of its excellent flavor, delicious taste, and attractive fragrance. It is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C and vitamin A. The mango tree is very hard in nature and has low maintenance when compared to other plants. Mango is used in a variety of dishes and is used to prepare pickles, juices, and pickles. The ripe mango is delicious to eat as it is and is used to prepare syrups, jams, nectar, jellies, and squashes. The mango is also used to prepare many sweet confectioneries and in soaps as well. The mango has up to 10% good quality fat. Lets us discuss in this article the mango plantation guide.

Mango production

Mango production occupies around 22% of total fruits production in India with a total production of 11 million tons with a total area of 1.2 million hectares. The state’s leading in Mango production are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, with 25% of the total Mango production area wise and followed by Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

Mango Exports

Mango and ripe mango is exported to many countries with the main countries being the USA and Middle East countries and a very small amount to European countries. India is the highest producer of Mango in the world and various varieties of Mango are exported to other countries. The total Mango production of India accounts for 60%, the popular varieties are Alphonso and Dashehari. Mango accounts for 40% of total fruits exports from India and there is large growth for further production and consumption in local and international markets.

Mango Cultivation

Mango can be grown from seeds are by vegetatively by various plant grafting techniques such as inarching, veneer grafting and epicotyls grafting, etc. The planting can be done by July-August in rainfed areas and by February-March in irrigated areas. In heavy rainfall areas, the Mango planting is done after the rainy season.

The spacing of the Mango plants

Mango plants can be planted with around 63 Mango trees per acre and the spacing between the trees are 10 meters * 10 meters and 12 meters * 12 meter in the dry and moist zones respectively. The ideal spacing would be 8 meters * 8 meters.

Nutrients required for Mango trees

Fertilizers are applied in 2 doses. One half during the harvesting of the fruits in June/July etc and the second half in October to young and old trees. In the sandy soil areas, the foliar application of 3% urea is recommended before flowering in trees.

The application of fertilizers during the various ages are shown in the table below,

Fertilizers Application for Mango

Age of Plant in years

Fertilizers applied

1

50 gram P2O5, 100 gram of K2O, and 100 gram N

10

1 Kg of K2O, 1 Kg of N, and 500 g of P2O5

11

1 Kg of K2O, 1 Kg of N, and 500 g of P2O5

Irrigation of Mango Plants

The young plants are frequently watered. The irrigation of the trees is done in 10 to 15 days interval from the fruit set to maturity. This is beneficial for high yield.

Intercropping in Mango orchard

The intercrops such as legumes, vegetables, and fruits such as peach, guava, plum, and papaya can be done and the nutrients requirements for the intercrops must be met accordingly.

Harvesting the Mango crop

The yield of mango varies greatly and grafted Mango trees bear fruits after the fifth year and trees from the seeds take 8 to 10 years. From the age of 3 to 4 years, the yield may be around 10 – 20 fruits and then to 50 to 75 fruits and in 10th year to 500 fruits. In the age group of 20 to 40 years, a tree may provide 1000 to 3000 fruits a year. The productive age of the Mango trees is nearly 50 years.

Post Harvesting

The shelf lives of Mangoes are around 2 to 3 weeks therefore for long life the Mangoes are stored under refrigeration at 13 degrees Celsius. The steps involved in the post-harvesting stages are preparation, grading, washing, drying, waxing, packing, pre-cooling, palletization, and transportation.

Conclusion

There are various delicacies are prepared with Mangoes and it is delicious to taste and to eat. Mangoes are very tasty. Mango farming is done through India because of its favorable climatic conditions. Mango cultivation is highly profitable to the farmers and if properly cultivated yields high profits. There are lots of varieties of Mangoes in each of the states in India. Mangoes are also referred to in history during the ages of Kings. Mango farming requires less maintenance and things needed for farming are the land, good soil conditions, well, pump set, and drip irrigation techniques. In India Mango bear fruits during the spring and summer season from March till July. The Mango trees bear starting flowers after January.