Production Technology of Fruit and Plantation Crops PDF

COURSE MANUAL Course Title: Production Technology of Fruit and Plantation Crops Credit Hours: 1+1 Submitted By Manoj Kundu Hidayatullah Mir Ruby Rani Department of Horticulture (F...

COURSE MANUAL Course Title: Production Technology of Fruit and Plantation Crops Credit Hours: 1+1 Submitted By Manoj Kundu Hidayatullah Mir Ruby Rani Department of Horticulture (Fruit & Fruit Technology) Bihar Agriculture College Sabour, Bhagalpur  Lecture 1: IMPORTANCE OF HORTICULTURE The horticulture sector contributes about 30.4 per cent of the agriculture GDP, besides providing employment for 19 per cent of the labour force. The demand for horticulture produce is expected to increase owing to increasing urbanization, income-lead higher standard of living, enhanced awareness of nutrition security and family welfare programmes. A. IMPORTANCE OF HORTICULTURAL CROPS IN HUMAN NUTRITION From human nutrition point of view horticulture is most important to our daily living. Many of the horticulture crops and their products find place in our meals and diet. Human body requires vitamins, minerals, proteins, energy etc. for its health. All these are supplied by horticultural crops. Fruits and vegetables are the chief sources of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, proteins etc. Fruits and vegetables are recognized as protective foods as they are necessary for the maintenance of human health. The Role of Horticulture in Alleviating Nutritional Deficiencies in the Developing World Malnutrition is the condition that occurs when your body does not get enough nutrients. Fruits: The Simple Solution Vitamins: These are the important constituents of fruits and are indispensable part of human diet. Although required in very minute quantities, they are absolutely essential for the maintenance of health. The deficiency of any vitamin from the diet for considerable period may lead to diseased state or disorder conditions. Fruits supply several vitamins  Vitamin-A: Sources-Mango, Papaya, Dates, Jackfruit, Walnut etc.  Vitamin B1 (Thiamine):. Sources - Orange, pineapple, jack fruit, cashew nut, walnut, dry apricot, almond, banana etc,.  Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Sources - Bael, papaya, litchi, banana, apricot, pomegranate, pear etc.  Vitamin -C (Ascorbic Acid): Sources - Amla, guava, ber, citrus, strawberry, pineapple etc.  Calcium: Sources - Acid lime, Orange, Fig, Dried apricots, wood apple etc.  Iron: Sources - Custard apple, Guava, Pineapple, Straw berry, Grape, Black currents, dried dates etc.  Phosphorous: Sources - Guava, Grape, Jackfruit, Passion fruit, Orange  Proteins: Sources: Fruits- Guava and Banana. Nut fruits like Walnut, Cashew nut and almond etc supplies proteins besides energy.  Enzymes: Sources: Papaya-Papain and Pineapple-Bromelin. B. COMPARISON OF HORTICULTURE WITH OTHER AGRICULTURAL SECTORS 1. Per Unit Area Yield is High: As compared to the field crops per hectare yield of horticulture crops is very high. From an fruit area of land more yield is obtained e.g. paddy gives a maximum yield of only 30 q/ha, while Banana gives 300 to 500 q/ha, Pine apple 450 q/ha and Grapes 90 - 150 q/ha. In present shortage of food and scarcity of land by growing fruits more food can be produced. 2. High Returns per Unit Area: From one unit area of land more income will be obtained e.g. Well kept orchard of apple, grapes and sweet orange can give as much as Rs. 25,0000 per ha as net income.  3. A Free Grower/Labour Remains Engaged for the Whole: An opportunity for maintaining labours throughout the year like the cereals where one cannot keep himself and employ the labours during the slack season. 4. Best Utilization of Waste Land: Some fruit crops can offer best utilization of waste land crops like wood apple, custard apple, karonda, litchi etc. can be grown in such areas. 5.Food energy: To meet the annual calories requirements of food per year one would have to cultivate about 0.44 ha of wheat or 0.03 ha of banana or 0.06 ha of mango for satisfying once need. Thus mango produces about 9 times more food energy than the wheat produced per unit area. 6. Raw Material for Industries: Fruit farming is the base for several industries like canning, essential oils etc which in turn provide work for more people. 7. Use of Undulating Lands: Fruit growing can be practiced in places where the gradient is uneven or where the land is undulating and agronomical crops cannot be cultivated. In Konkan region, mango and cashew are cultivated on large scales on hilly and hill back area. C. HORTICULTURE IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR 3 REASONS Economic Aesthetic Environment a. Economic Importance Horticulture puts over billions of rupees in a year into the Indian economy by  Providing jobs.  Producing food.  Fruits.  Vegetables.  Nuts.  Increasing home value through landscaping b. Aesthetic Importance  Aesthetic = Appearance  Improves appearance of homes & buildings through landscaping.  Improves appearance of land from fruit, vegetable, and ornamental crops grown c. Environmental Appearance  Provides health & comfort by  Cleaning the air.  Preventing erosion.  Providing shade.  Providing nutrition. IMPORTANCE OF PLANTATION CROPS The term Plantation crops refers to those crops which are cultivated on an extensive scale in a large contiguous area, owned and managed by an Individual or a company. The crops include tea, coffee, rubber, cocoa, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, palmyrah, cashew, cinchona etc. These plantation crops are high value commercial crops of greater economic importance and play a vital role in our Indian economy. The main draw back with this sector: of crops in India is that major portion of the area is of small holdings (except Tea) which hinders the adoption of intensive cultivation. In the case of coffee 97.13 per cent of the growers have holdings below ten hectares and in Rubber, 82 per cent of the total area is of small hojdings having an average size of 0.5 ha. The Economic Importance of these Crops are: 1. They contribute to national economy by way of export earnings. These crops occupy less than 2 per cent of the total cultivated area (i.e. 3.82 per cent of total crop land) but they generate an income of around Rs. 16,000 million or about 12.72 per cent of the total export earnings of ail commodities or 75 per cent of total earnings from the export of agricultural produces. 2. India is the leading country in the total production of certain plantation crops in the world. For instance, our production meets the share of 47 per cent in tea and 66 per cent in each of cashew and arecanut, 3. Plantation industry provides direct as well as indirect employment lo many millions of people. For instance, tea industry offers direct employment to 10 lakhs and indirect employment to 10 lakh people, while-cashew processing factories alone provide employment to 3 lakhs people besides 2 lakhs farmers are employed in cashew cultivation. 4. Plantation industry supports many by-product industries and also many rural industries. For example, coconut husk is used to produce coir fiber annually to a tune of 2,19,600 tones in India. 5. These crops help to conserve the soil and ecosystem. Tea planted in hill slopes and cashew in barrel and waste lands protect the land from soil erosion during the rainy season or due to heavy winds.  Lecture 2: MANGO Botanical Name: Mangifera Indica L. Family: Anacardiaceae Origin: Indo-Burma Type of fruit Drupe Edible part: Mesocarp Inflorescence: Panicle Chromosome no.: X=10, 2n=40 PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY Agro-climatic requirements Although, it is a tropical fruit, the mango equally grows well in frost free subtropical region. It thrives well in almost all the regions of the country but cannot be grown commercially in areas above 600 m. However it can grow from sea level to an altitude of about 1000 meters provided; there is no high humidity, rain or frost during the flowering period It cannot stand severe frost, especially when the tree is young. High temperature by itself is not so injurious to mango, but in combination with low humidity and high winds, it affects the tree adversely. Mango varieties usually thrive well in places with rainfall in the range of 75-375 cm. /annum and dry season. The distribution of rainfall is more important than its amount. Dry weather before blossoming is conducive to profuse flowering. Rain during flowering is detrimental to the crop as it interferes with pollination. However, rain during fruit development is good but heavy rains cause damage to ripening fruits. Strong winds and cyclones during fruiting season can play havoc as they cause excessive fruit drop. Loamy, alluvial, well drained, aerated and deep soils rich in organic matter with a pH range of 5.5 to 7.5 are ideal for mango cultivation. Floral biology and pollination The mango inflorescence is primarily terminal, although axillary and multiple panicles may also arise from axillary buds. Both perfect (hermaphrodite) and staminate (male) flowers occur in the same inflorescence. The total number of flowers in a panicle may vary from 1000 to 6000, depending on the cultivar. There is heavy drop of hermaphrodite flowers upto 99% only 0.1 % or less hermaphrodite flowers develop fruit to maturity. Varieties Cultivated In India, about 1,500 varieties of mango are grown including 1,000 commercial varieties. Each of the main varieties of mango has an unique taste and flavour. Based on time of ripening, varieties may be classified as under : Early - Bombai, Bombay Green , Himsagar, Kesar, Suvernarekha Mid-season - Alphonso, Mankurad, Bangalora, Vanraj, Banganapalli, Dashehari, Langra, Kishen Bhog, Zardalu, Mankurad Late - Fazli, Fernandin, Mulgoa, Neelum, Chausa Hybrids: Amrapalli (Dashehari x Neelum), Mallika (Neelum x Dashehari), Arka Aruna (Banganapalli x Alphonso), Arka Puneet (Alphonso x Janardhan Pasand), Arka Neelkiran (Alpohonso x Neelum), Ratna (Neelum x Alphonso), Sindhu (Ratna x Alphonso), Au Rumani (Rumani x Mulgoa), Manjeera (Rumani x Neelum), PKM 1 (Chinnasuvernarekha x Neelum), Alfazli, Sunder Langra, Sabri, Jawahar, Neelphonso, Neeleshan, Neeleshwari, PKM 2 (very few of these hybrid varieties are grown commercially in the country). The important mango varieties cultivated in different states of India are given below : State Varieties grown Andhra Pradesh - Allumpur Baneshan, Banganapalli, Bangalora, Cherukurasam, Himayuddin, Suvernarekha, Neelum, Totapuri Bihar - Bathua, Bombai, Himsagar, Kishen Bhog, Sukul, Gulab Khas, Zardalu, Langra, Chausa, Dashehari, Fazli Goa - Fernandin, Mankurad Gujarat - Alphonso, Kesar, Rajapuri, Vanraj, Jamadar, Totapuri, Neelum, Dashehari, Langra Haryana - Dashehari, Langra, Sarauli, Chausa, Fazli Himachal Pradesh - Chausa, Dashehari, Langra Jharkhand - Jardalu, Amrapalli, Mallika, Bombai, Langra, Himsagar, Chausa, Gulabkhas Karnataka - Alphonso, Bangalora, Mulgoa, Neelum, Pairi, Baganapalli, Totapuri Kerala - Mundappa, Olour, Pairi Madhya Pradesh - Alphonso, Bombay Green, Langra, Sunderja, Dashehari, Fazli, Neelum, Amrapalli, Mallika Maharashtra - Alphonso, Mankurad, Mulgoa, Pairi, Rajapuri, Kesar, Gulabi, Vanraj Orissa - Baneshan, Langra, Neelum, Suvarnarekha, Amrapalli, Mallika Punjab - Dashehari, Langra, Chausa, Malda Rajasthan - Bombay Green, Chausa, Dashehari, Langra Tamil Nadu - Banganapalli, Bangalora, Neelum, Rumani, Mulgoa, Alphonso, Totapuri Uttar Pradesh - Bombay Green, Dashehari, Langra, Safeda Lucknow, Chausa, Fazli West Bengal - Bombai, Himsagar, Kishen Bhog, Langra, Fazli, Gulabkhas, Amrapalli, Mallika  Sindhu is a seedless variety of mango.  Coloured mango cultivars Tommy Atkins, Zilette, Haden, Sensation Julie, Vanraj, Husn- e-ara and Sensation  Mulgoa is the mother of all Floidan coloured mango cultivars  Besides Alphanso, Kesar, Gulabkhas, Safdar Pasand and Lakhan Bhog are mango cultivars suitable for export  Amarapali and Arka Aruna are dwarf mango cultivars Polyembryonic varieties of India: Bappakai, Chandrakaran, Bellary, Goa, Kurukkan, Nileswar dwarf. Olour, Pahutan, Salem, Mazagoaon, Mylepalium and vellaikolumban. These are common in west coast i.e., Malabar region in west coast. Polyembryonic varieties introduced from other countries in to India: Apricot, Simmonds, Higgins, Pico, Sabre, Saigon, Strawberry, Cambodiana, Turpentine and Carabao. ROOTSTOCKS:  Vellaicollamban is the only octaploid (2n=8x=80) variety and is a potential polyploidy dwarfing rootstock of mango  Kurrukan is a polyembryonic salt resistant rootstock of mango  Moovandan and Nekkare are also salt tolerant mango rootstocks\  Rumani is a dwarfing rootstock in mango Planting Planting Material Mango can be propagated from seed or propagated vegetatively. Plants are generally propagated vegetatively by using several techniques like veneer grafting, inarching and epicotyl grafting etc. Planting Season Planting is usually done in the month of July-August in rainfed areas and during February-March in irrigated areas. In case of heavy rainfall zones, planting is taken up at the end of rainy season. Spacing The planting distance is 10m. x 10m. and 12m. x 12m. in dry and moist zones respectively. In the model scheme, a spacing of 8m. x 8m. with a population of 63 plants per acre has been considered which was observed to be common in areas covered during a field study. In HDP Amrapalli is being planted at 2.5. x 2.5m. Training of Plants Training of plants in the initial stages of growth is very important to give them a proper shape especially in cases where the graft has branched too low. In HDP open centre system is highly successful. Nutrition Fertilizers may be applied in two split doses , one half immediately after the harvesting of fruits in June/July and the other half in October, in both young and old orchards followed by irrigation if there are no rains. Foliar application of 3 % urea in sandy soils is recommended before flowering. The following table gives the details of fertilizer applied (depending upon the age of the plants) : Age of the plant Fertilizer applied (in years) 1* 100g. N, 50g. P2O5, 100g. K2O 10 1kg. N, 500g. P2O5, 1kg. K2O 11 -do- *The doses applied in the subsequent years should be increased every year upto 10 years in the multiple of the first year’s dose. Well decomposed farm-yard manure may be applied every year. For trench application of fertilizers, 400g. each of N and K2O and 200g. of P2O5 per plant should be provided. Micro-nutrients may be applied as per the requirement in the form of foliar sprays. Irrigation The frequency and amount of irrigation to be provided depends on the type of soil, prevailing climatic conditions, rainfall and its distribution and lastly the age of the trees. No irrigation is required during the monsoon months unless there are long spells of drought. Age of the plant (in Irrigation schedule years)/Growth stage 1  Irrigated at an interval of 2-3 days during dry season.  2-5  Irrigation interval- 4-5 days. 5-8/ fruit set to maturity  Irrigated after every 10-15 days Full bearing stage  2-3 irrigations after fruit set. Frequent irrigation during 2-3 months prior to the flowering season is not advisable as it is likely to promote vegetative growth at the expense of flowering. Irrigation should be given at 50% field capacity. Generally inter-crops are grown during the early years of plantation and hence frequency and method of irrigation has to be adjusted accordingly. The method usually followed for irrigating mango plants is basin irrigation. However, use of Drip Irrigation will not only reduce the water requirements but will also help in fertigation in root zones of the plants. Intercultural Operations The frequency and the time of inter-culture operations vary with age of the orchards and existence of inter-crops. The weed problem may not exist immediately after planting the mango crop but it is advisable to break the crust with hand hoe each time after 10-15 irrigations are applied. In case of mono- cropping, 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. Inter-cropping Intercropping can be taken up till the mango trees attain suitable height and develop canopy (at 5-6 years of age).Leguminous crops like green gram, black gram, gram etc., cereals like wheat, oilseeds like mustard, sesame and groundnut, vegetable crops such as cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, potato, brinjal, cucumber, pumpkin, bitter gourd, tinda, lady‟s finger etc. and spices like chillies can be grown as intercrops. The partial shade loving crops like pineapple, ginger, turmeric etc. can be cultivated in fully grown orchards. 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.It is advisable to take vegetable crops as inter crops for better returns. The average cost of inter cropping would be Rs.10,000 / Acre and it would yield on an average of 6 tonnes / Acres. Crop Management Regulation of Bearing Proper cultural practices like addition of fertilizers and control of diseases and insect pests may be adopted to regulate growth and bearing. Regular bearing varieties viz. Dashehari and Amrapalli may be grown. Deblossoming of the panicles with NAA @ 200 ppm. (20 g./100 l. water) during „on‟ year may help to regulate the bearing. Regulation of Fruit Drop Embryo abortion, climatic factors , disturbed water relation, lack of nutrition, attack of disease and pest, hormonal imbalances are the major factors that lead to fruit drop. A spray of Alar (B-Nine) @ 100 ppm. or 20 ppm. 2,4-D (2g. in 100 l. water) in the last week of April or in the last week of May will control to some extent the summer fruit drop in Langra & Dashehari. Plant Protection Measures Insect Pests Insect pests mostly observed are mealy bug, hopper, inflorescence midge, fruit fly and scale insects. For controlling these insects, spraying with carbaryl, monocrotophos, phosphamidon & methyl parathion are recommended. Harvesting and Yield The orchard starts bearing from sixth year onwards and the economic life of a mango tree exceeds 40 years. A full bearing mango tree having an age of more than 15 years bears about 1000-3000 fruits during on year. Yield of fruits varies considerably according to the variety, climatic conditions, plant population etc. On an average the productivity of mango in India is 6.6 MT/HA (NHB-2010-11). Grafted plants start bearing early.  Lecture 3: Mango Disorders Spongy Tissue: A non edible sour patch developed in the mesocarp of mango fruit is broadly termed spongy tissue. The malady has been reported only in Alphonso. The peculiarity of this malady is that external symptoms of the fruit affected by spongy tissue are not apparent at the time of picking or at the ripe stage. These can be detected only on cutting the ripe fruit. This malady renders the fruit unfit for human consumption. It is a physiological disorder in which fruit pulp remains unripe because of unhydrolyzed starch due to physiological and biochemical disturbances caused by heat in mature fruit at pre-and post-harvest stages. Single and double preharvest dip of fruits in calcium solution significantly increased the calcium content in the ripe fruits, whereas there was no significant increase in calcium content by post harvest Ca dip treatment. The pre harvest dip significantly reduced the occurrence of spongy tissue in the ripe „Alphonso‟ fruits. The use of wind-breaks for protecting the orchard from warm air during May, and use of proper precautions at post-harvest stage checks the disorder. Use of mulching and post harvest exposure to low temperatures between 10-15 C for 10-18 hours has been useful in reducing the malady. Mango Malformation: Malformation is widely prevalent in northern India, particularly in the states of Punjab, Delhi and western U.P. where more than 50% of the trees suffer from this malady. The malformed panicles remain unproductive and are characterized by a compact mass of male flowers, greenish in colour and stunted in growth. The main and secondary rachis is thick and short and bears flowers with relatively larger bracts, sepals and petals as compared to normal flowers. The malformed panicles remain intact on the trees for a considerable long period. The complexity of the disorder is attributed to cultural, nutritional and factors like, mites, fungal, viral, hormonal imbalance etc. The exact cause and control of the malady is yet to be established. Control: Spraying of Planofix (200 ppm) during the first week of October followed by deblossoming at bud burst stage is recommended as a remedial measure against malformation. Malformation Among all the known diseases and insect pests of mango, malformation is undoubtedly the most serious. Depending on the plant part affected, two categories of the malformation,vegetative and floral, have been recognized. In vegetative malformation, the vegetative buds in the leaf axils or at the apical meristem of the younger plants, on activation, develop abnormally as compact rosette-like shootlets, bearing tiny leaf rudiments. Many such shoots may arise to form a bunch, hence it is also sometimes known as bunchy top. The problem is not serious in the grown-up trees. The affected new shoots on the old trees, however, become thick, stunted, and develop a whorl of small leaves. Floral malformation, in contrast, is very virulent and can cause the loss of the entire crop. It affects the fruit production directly by converting the panicle to a barren one. Floral malformation exhibits all sorts of symptoms, but any deviation of a part of the panicle, or all the parts of a panicle, from the normal to abnormal should be considered as a symptom of this malady. In severe form, the affected panicle appears like a compact mass, being more green and sturdy. It bends down due to its own weight. It is found that the application of 200ppm NAA during the first week of October as spray resulted in considerable reduction of floral malformation. Early deblossoming, combined with NAA spray during October, may reduce the extent of malformation considerably. Biennial Bearing: The term biennial, alternate or irregular bearing generally signifies the tendency of mango trees to bear a heavy crop in one year (On year) and very little or no crop in the succeeding year (Off year). Most of the commercial varieties of north India, namely, Dashehari, Langra and Chausa are biennial bearers, while south Indian varieties like Totapuri Red Small, Bangalora, and Neelum are known to be regular bearers. When a tree produces heavy crop in one season, it gets exhausted nutritionally and is unable to put forth new flush thereby failing to yield in the following season. The problem has been attributed to the causes like genetical, physiological, environmental and nutritional factors. Control: For overcoming biennial bearing, deblossoming is recommended to reduce the crop load in the 'On' year so that it is balanced in the 'Off year. Proper maintenance of orchard by way of effective control of pests and diseases and regular cultural operations may also result in better performance of the tree every year. Soil application of Paclobutrazol (PP ) or Cultar @ 4 g/tree in the month of September resulted in 333 early flowering with higher fruit set and yield. It may be applied every year for regular fruiting, particularly in young trees. Ringing of branches is recommended as means of inducing flowering in the 'Off' year. However, Weak, stunted, unhealthy trees should not be ringed to force flowering. It involves removal of 1 cm wide ring of bark on a branch of about 15 cm thickness. Ringing stops vegetative growth and results in accumulation of carbohydrates and other metabolites in the portion of the branch above the ring, thereby creating physiological condition for flowering. Ringing should be done in August or early September, well before the time of fruit-bud differentiation. Fruit Drop: The intensity of fruit drop varies from variety to variety. Among the commercially grown varieties, Langra is more susceptible to drop, while Dasheri is the least. The fruit drop is more or less a continuous process and can be classified into three phases, viz. (i) pinhead drop, (ii) post-setting drop and (iii) May-month drop. The fruit drop in first two phases are insignificant compared to the third phase which affects the final yield significantly and needs more attention. Embryo abortion, climatic factors, disturbed water relation, lack of nutrition, attack of disease and pest and hormonal imbalances are the major factors that lead to fruit drop. Control: The foliar application of Alar (B-nine) @ 100 ppm or NAA 20 ppm at pea stage of fruit was found effective in controlling fruit drop in mango. Black Tip: Black tip is a serious disorder, particularly in the cultivar Dasheri. The affected fruits become unmarketable and reduce the yield to a considerable extent. The damage to the fruit gets initiated right at marble stage with a characteristic yellowing of tissues at distal end. Gradually, the colour intensifies into brown and finally black. At this stage, further growth and development of the fruit is retarded and black ring at the tip extends towards the upper part of the fruit. Black tip disorder has generally been detected in orchards located in the vicinity of brick kilns. It has been reported that the gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and ethylene constituting the fumes of brick kiln are known to damage growing tip of fruits and give rise to the symptoms of black tip. Apart from these factors, irrigation, condition of the tree and management practices also play important role in deciding the severity of the disorder. Control: Planting of mango orchards in North-South direction and 5-6 km away from the brick kilns may reduce incidence of black tip to a greater extent. The incidence of black tip can also be minimized by spraying Borax (1%) or other alkaline solutions like caustic soda (0.8%) or washing soda (0.5%). The first spray of Borax should be done positively at pea stage followed by two more sprays at 15 days interval. Clustering in Mango ('Jhumka') : A fruiting disorder, locally known as 'Jhumka', is characterised by the development of fruitlets in clusters at the tip of panicles. Such fruits cease to grow beyond pea or marble stage and drop downafter a month of fruit set. Absence of sufficient population of pollinators in the orchards is the majorreason. The other reasons causing the disorder are old and overcrowding of trees, indiscriminate spraying against pests and diseases, use of synthetic pyrethroids, monoculture of Dashehari and bad weather during flowering. Control :Introduction of beehives in the orchards during flowering season for increasing the number of pollinators and restrict insecticidal sprays at full bloom to avoid killing of pollinators. Pests and diseases should be controlled in time by spraying the recommended pesticides and concentrations. Spraying of NAA (300 ppm) during October-November is recommended. The practice of monoculture of a particular variety may be avoided. Particularly in case of Dashehari, 5- 6% of other varieties should be planted in new plantations.  Lecture 4: BANANA (Musa spp.) Family: Musaceae; 2n= 3x= 33 Origin: South East Asia Popularly known as Tree of Paradise/ Tree of Wisdom Area:803000 ha ; Production: 29725 000 MT: ; Productivity: 37 t/ha Major producing state: Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Madhya Pradesh Area:TN>Karnataka>AndhraPradesh Production:TN>Maharashtra>Gujarat Productivity: Madhya Pradesh > Gujarat > Maharashtra Nutritional properties: Water 61-78% and Carbohydrate- 20-25%. P- 290 ppm, Ca- 80 ppm and Fe- 6 ppm Uses: 1. Table fruit as well as vegetables 2. Processed product- flecks, powder, banana figs, banana chips 3. Add pleasant flavour in ice cream 4. leaves and pseudostem- good feed for animals 5. Male flower and pseudostem- used as vegetables 6. Sheath- good source of fibre 7. Leaves- used as biological plate to serve food and also used as wrapping material 8. Ornamental plants- M. ornata, M. velutina, M. flaviflora Origin of cultivated forms Scoring technique of banana: Simmonds and Shepherd (1955) devised scoring technique in banana for distinguishing M. acuminata type from M. balbisiana by using 15 morphological characters. For each characters, cultivar agreed with M. acuminate, given a score of one (1) and for M. balbisiana, a score of five (5) while for intermediate expression, score of 2, 3 and 4 will be given according to the intensity of the characters. Hence, the total score ranged from 15 (pure M. acuminata) to 75 (pure M. balbisiana). Score in between 15-75 would be based on relative genomic constitution of the two spp. They classify the whole edible banana into 6 genomic groups- AA, AAA, AAB, AB, ABB and ABBB. But they did not mention BB/BBB in their classification. Later on Silayoi and Chamchalow (1987) introduced BB/BBB in banana genomic group by modifying the classification of Simmond and Shepherd (1955). The details taxonomic classification of banana and scores is as follows-  Genomic Ploidy level Score constitution Simmond and Shepherd Silayoi and Chamchalow AA 2X 15-23 15-25 AAA 3X 15-23 15-25 AAB 3X 24-46 26-46 AB 2X 49 - ABB 3X 59-63 59-63 ABBB 4X 67 67-69 BB/BBB 2X/3X - 70-75 Varieties: AA Lady’s Finger: Fruit is sweet in taste with thin skinned. AAA Gross Michel: Occupy about 63% of world trade Dwarf Cavendish (Basrai, Singapuri): Leading commercial cultivar of India, contributing about 58% of total production owing to its high yield, ability to withstand strong wind and give high economic return/unit area Robusta (Harichal, Bombay Green): Semi-tall sport of Dwarf Cavendish. Plant completes its life cycle within one year. Giant Cavendish (Grand Naine, Giant Governor): Tall mutant of Dwarf Cavendish. Red Banana: Having red pigments in leaf, petiole, sheath and fruit. Amritsagar Chakkarakeli AAAA Bodley Altafort: Gross Michel × Pisang Lilin AB Ney Poovan Kunnan (most suitable for processing like banana fig, powder) AAB Rasthali (Morthoman, Malbhog) Poovan (Champa, Chini Champa) Nendran (Plantain): Duel purpose variety (table and cooking). Used for processing- powder, chips, fig Hill Banana (Virupakshi, Ladan): Grow at higher elevation under rain fed condition Rajapuri ABB (Cooking banana) Monthan (Bontha): most suitable for making chips Karpuravalli (Sail Kola): Hardy crop, can tolerate drought, salt and wind. Klue Teparod Promising Hybrids H1(AAB): Agniswar x Pisang Lilin H2 (AAB): Vennan x Pisang Lilin CO1 (AAB): Kallar Ladan x Sawai x Kadali. FHIA 1(AAAB): Also known as Gold Finger FHIA 2, FHIA 3 etc Soil: Banana can grow in all kind of soil starting from clay to sandy, acidic to alkaline. However, clay soil with moderate water holding capacity and adequate drainage is optimum for banana cultivation. Similarly, sandy loam soil with proper irrigation facility may also be selected for successful banana cultivation. The pH of 6.5- 7.5 is optimum but can also grow in soil having pH up to 8.5. Climate: It is a crop of tropics to humid subtropics to semi-arid subtropics up to 2000 m msl. It can grow in a wide range of temperature - 15-35°C with optimum range of 20-30°C with an annual rainfall of 50-200 cm/annum (100-125 cm opt.). Low temperature (below 10°C) at bunch emergence stage prevents the growth of rachis and inflorescence start to come out from pseudostem directly causing „Chok Throat‟ disorder. However, temperature above 36-38°C causes scorching effect on the tree. Propagation: 1. Suckers: Water sucker- Developed from shallow buds near the soil surface, having broad leaves Sword sucker- Originated from axilary bud lower down on the parent rhizome, having small, thin and sword shaped leaves – used for commercial multiplication (weight- 500-700 g) 2. Micro-propagation by shoot tip culture is also commercialized for rapid multiplication of banana Planting season: Warm and humid condition is pre-requisite at the time of planting- rainy season (July-September) is best time for planting of banana. Spacing: Tall cultivars- 2.4 x 2.4 m (Grand Naine) Semi tall- 2.1 x 2.1 m (Poovan, Rasthali, Nendran, Robusta) Dwarf- 1.8x 1.8 m (Dwarf Cavendish) Method of planting: For planting of banana 1st pit should be prepared at a size of 60x60x60 cm. after digging the pit, it should be filled with soil, sand and FYM mixture @ 1:1:1 ratio. Thereafter, Planting of sucker should be done at the centre of pit at a depth of 30-40 cm. Apart from this pit system of planting, Furrow system of planting is practiced in Maharastra and Gujarat at 30-40 cm depth. Manuring and fertilization: Banana is a heavy feeder crop; require large quantity of nutrients accounting 20-30% of total cost of production. For better growth and yield, FYM should be applied @ 10kg/plant at the time of planting. Each plant required a total of 100-250 g nitrogen. Among which 50 g should be applied at the time of planting and 150 gm at vegetative stage (50 g/split) while remaining 50 g at reproductive stage of the plant. However, phosphorous should be applied only at the time of planting @ 20-40 g/plant. Banana is a heavy feeder of potash. It needs 100 g/plant (2 split) of K at vegetative stage and 100 g/plant (2 split) in reproductive stage. Apart from these, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn should be applied @ 0.005-0.1% each. Water management: AAA and AAB clones of banana can be grown under irrigated condition while ABB under rain fed condition. Irrigation at 5-15 days interval depending upon the available moisture in soil with a total of 100-125 cm in 18 months is the pre-requisite for better growth and development of banana plants. Normally furrow and basin and trench systems are followed. The furrow or basin system is useful if water availability is not a constraint. Trench method is followed especially in wetland system of cultivation. However, Drip irrigation system gained popularity in banana and it is most suitable for plain and undulated land and also most economic as it not only save 40-50% water but early harvest is also achieved with higher yield/unit area. Weed management:”Weed reduce yield upto 40-50% depending upon the cultivar and soil. 1st six months of growth are most critical for weed growth. The plantation have to be kept completely weed free during that time. Hence, regular hand weeding is essential. In wetland cultivation, turning the top soil to bury the weeds after complete wetting the field followed by no irrigation for 15-20 days is commonly practiced to check the weed growth for 2-3 months. Apart from cultural practices, chewmical control using 0.4% glycel spray is also effective. But an integrated weed management by intercropping with cowpea, soil mulching with sugarcane trash and paddy straw and one spray of glycel is economical. Aftercare: Desuckering: It is the removal of surplus and unwanted suckers from the mother plant. It should be done once in 45 days. In young plantation (upto 2-3 months), heading back of suckers with a sharp knife is commonly practiced. However, in old plantation, removal of suckers along with their rhizome is followed. Intercropping: It is a common practice in banana orchards to check weed growth, improve soil health and to augment some additional income. In initial years, cowpea, soyabean, beans, turmeric, ginger, onion are grown as intercrop. Intercropping with brinjal and cucurbits should be avoided as they can cause the attack of nematodes or soil borne diseases in banana plantation. Mulching: Mulching helps to conserve soil moisture and suppress weed growth. Organic mulching also helps to improves soil health. Sugarcane trash @ 10 t/ha provides effective mulching for conservation of moisture. Paddy straw, dried leaves of Pongamia and polyethylene sheet can also be used effectively as mulching materials in banana field. Removal of dried leaves: As the young plants grow and lower leaves start to dry, they are separated from the pseudostem and fall apart. To avoid weakening of the pseudostem, it is a common practice to tie all the leaf sheaths with a dried banana leaf. This operation is done periodically at bimonthly interval. Dried or diseased leaves also required to be removed at regular intervals for better sanitation of the plantation and to prevent pest and disease infestation and also to expose the plant to sunlight. For maximum yield, a minimum of 10-12 leaves are required to be retained on the mother plant. Propping: It is the practice of staking the plant with bamboo or Casurina poles immediately after bunch emergence to avoid lodging of the plant due to overload. It is essential in tall cultivars. Denavelling: It is the removal of male bud after completion of female phase. It serves the dual purpose of saving movement of food to unwanted sink and earns additional income as the male bud used as vegetable. Bunch covering: Bunch covering is practiced for Cavendish and silk group of banana. Under subtropical condition, covering or wrapping the bunche with perforated polyethelene bags increase yield by 15-20%. Covering the bunch by using dried leaves is also practiced to avoid direct exposure of peduncle to sunlight. Uncovered peduncle when exposed to sun is scorched and causes secondery infection by Colletotrichum resulting poor finger filling. Harvesting: For long distance market, harvesting should be done at 75-80% maturity & for local market at full maturity. Maturity indices: Number of days from flower emergence to maturity- 90-120 days. Disappearance of angularity Brittleness of floral remnants and their natural shedding Change of skin colour from dark green to light green or yellow Drying of top leaves Yield: Avg yield 15-40 t/ha Ratooning: Ratooning is done when 3/4th plants in an orchard come into flowering, allow 1 sucker to grow along with mother plant. It is done by chopping the vegetative growth of sucker at 1.5-2 months stage to allow the rhizome to grow and enlarge. At the time of harvesting this sucker will get ready as ratoon crop.  Lecture 5: Citrus (Citrus spp.) Family: Rutaceace; 2n= 2x= 18 Origin: South East Asia (North-eastern India and adjacent China) Area:1078 000 ha; Production: 11147 000 MT; Productivity: 10.3 t/ha Citrus constitutes a major group of fruits that composed of orange, mandarin, lime, lemon, grapefruit, pummelo, tangelo, lemonime, kumquat, trifoliate orange, citron, citranges etc. The family Rutaceae having a large number of genus among which six genera viz. Citrus, Poncirus, Fortunella, Microcitrus, Eremocitrus and Clymenia) comprises the true citrus fruits. Among them, Poncirus, a monotypic genus, occurs naturally in Central and North China, is deciduous in nature and highly resistant to cold. However, other genera are evergreen in nature. Fortunella (from South China) is highly tolerant to prolonged winter. Microcitrus is resistant to burrowing nematode and phytophthora. Eremocitrus (from Australia) is highly drought resistant (xerophytic). Uses Mandarin, oranges and grapefruit, pummelo used as table fruit Lime, lemon is popularly used in salad Juice of lemon and lime- sweet soft drinks, lemonades, lime cordial Mandarin, oranges- marmalades, mixed fruit jam, juice concentrate Citron peel and whole kumquat fruit- candied Lime and lemon- pickles and commercial citric acid Essential oils from flower and fruit- cosmetic industries Essential oils from grapefruit and lemon- insecticidal properties Medical properties- prevent cancer (due to antioxidant properties), heart attack (by reducing cholesterol content in the blood- resulting minimization of cholesterol clogging in arteries) Classification: Citrus classification is quite complicated and confused because a large number of cultivars, hybrids, polyploids, mutants and polyembryonic species are exist in nature with wide variability. In addition, many local names of different cultivars, changing botanical nomenclature at different locality, unexplained relationship between different cultivars makes the task of classification more complicated. Out of these confusion, W.T. Swingle (USA) (1948) considered 16 species under the genus Citrus with 2 subgenera- Eucitrus (10 species) and Papeda (6 species). However, T. Tanaka (Japan) described as many as 144 species under the genus Citrus (1954) with two subgenera- Archicitrus (98 species) and Metacitrus (46 species). Demerits of these 2 classifications: Swingle’s classification: Not sufficiently comprehensive. He considered most of the species as of hybrid origin and rejected those species which were not occurring in nature in wild form. He failed to cover many forms of horticultural importance and many species of Japanese, Chinese and of Indian origin. Tanaka’s classification: He considered much more comprehensive and detailed classification, contained excessive number of species, some of them being doubtful validity. In the mandarin group alone, he described 35 species, resulting in too much confusion and less practical utility. Later on, Hodgson (1961) proposed a comprehensive classification by specifying a total of 31 species under the genus Citrus.He gave specific rank to Rough lemon, Sweet lime, Rangpur lime, Cleopatra mandarin and others, thus increasing the number from 16 to 31. Different citrus groups: 1. Mandarin group: Cirtus reticulate (Common mandarin): Origin- China. Important cultivars- Nagpur mandarin, Coorg mandarin, Khasi mandarin, Ponkan mandarin, Darjeeling or Sikkim mandarin C. unshiu (Satsuma group): Origin- Japan. It is a cold hardy species. Important cultivars- Satsuma mandarin(from Japan), Owari, Kara, Silver Hill etc. C. deliciosa (Willow leaf group): Origin- Mediterranean region. Important cultivars- Willow leaf mandarin, Kinnow and Wilking (from USA), Blinda (from Algeria). C. nobilis (King group): Origin- Indo-China. Important cultivars- King (from USA).  Kinnow- King x Willow leaf mandarin (by H.B. Frost,1935).Introduced in India (Punjab) in 1958. spreading to northern and western India at faster rate. 2. Orange group: C. sinensis (Sweet orange): Origin- China. Important cultivars- Mosambi, Malta Blood Red, Satgudi, Valencia, Pineapple, Jaffa, Hamlin, Washington Navel (From USA), Samouti (from Israel), Succari (from Egypt), Dobla Fina (from Spain) etc. C. aurantium (Sour orange): Cold hardy species. 3. Pummelo-grapefruit group: C. grandis (C. maxima) (Pummelo): Origin- Malayasia and Polynesia. It is a monoembryonic species. C. paradisi (Grapefruit): Origin- West Indies. Important cultivars- Foster, Ruby, Marsh Seedless, Duncan, Thompson, Redblush, Triumph. 4. Acid group: C. limon(lemon): Origin- East Asia. Important cultivars- Eureka and Lisbon (from USA), Femminello and Monachello (from Italy), Kaghzi Kalan, Italian Round, Assam lemon, Villafrance, Elaichi Nimbu. C. jambhiri (Rough lemon): Origin- India. Fairly tolerant to most of the virus including tristeza. C. aurantifolia (Acid lime): Origin- India. Important cultivars- Kagzi lime, Pramalini, Vikram, PKM-1, Chakradhar, Seedless lime, Selection 49 C. limettoides (Sweet lime): Origin- India. Important cultivars- Sharbati (Mitha-nimbu), mithachikna, Mithotra 5. Wild and semi wild species: C. indica: Origin- India. C. latipes and C. ichangensis: Cold tolerant species. C. assamensis (C. pennivesiculata var. assamensis): Origin- Assam (India). Having leaf aroma similar to ginger or eucalyptus. C. macroptera 6. Related genera: Poncirus: Origin China. Having single species- P. trifoliata. It is deciduous species with trifoliate leaves. Plants highly thorny, fruit inedible. Resistant to different biotic and abiotic stresses. Fortunella: The fruits of this genera are mostly used for ornamental purpose. 7. Intergeneric hybrids: Citrange: C. sinensis × P. trifoliata. Citrangequat: It is a trigeneric hybrid between Citrus, Poncirus and Fortunella. Citrangedin: Citrange × Calamondin (C. mitis). Citrangor: Citrange × C. sinensis Cicitrange: Citrange × P. trifoliate Citrumelo: C. paradise × P. trifoliata Citrandarin: C. reticulata × P. trifoliata Citremon: C. limon × P. trifoliata Citradia: C. aurantium × P. trifoliata Citrumquat: P. trifoliata × Fortunella Limequat: C. aurantifolia × Fortunella 8. Intrageneric hybrid: Tangor: C. reticulata × C. sinensis. Tangelo: C. reticulata × C. paradisi. Lemonime: C. limon × C. aurantifolia Lemonnage: C. limon × C. sinensis Lemondarin: C. limon × C. reticulata Botany: Citrus is an evergreen shrubs (upto 10 m height) except Poncirus which is deciduous in nature. The root system of the crop is single tap root with lateral roots growing horizontally, providing a surface mat of feeding root. Leaves are normally unifoliate but in Poncirus it is trifoliate in nature. Flower are solitary or in small clusters of cymes in leaf axil. Flowers are normally born on new/current season growth. Fruit are modified berry, commonly called as hesperidium. Fruit have 3 layers- exo, meso and endocarp. Exocarp is the outer layer rich in chloroplast and oil glands, called as flavedo. Mesocarp is the middle layer (colourless spongy portion of fruit ring) rich in sugar, pectine, ascorbic acid and glucoside- called as albedo while endocarp is the segments with multicellular hairs which are filled with juice and surrounded with transparent membrane. Edible part of the fruit is juice vesicles. Seeds are polyembryonic in nature with one zygotic and several non-zygotic embryos (exception- pummelo, citron and Tahiti lime as they are monoembryonic in nature). Flowering time: under subtropical climate it flowers in Spring (Feb- April). However, in south India it flowers twice in a year (Dec- April and again Sep- Dec) and in central and western India, trice in a year (February, June and October). Flowering in Lime & lemon occurs throughout the year. On the basis of flowering they are classified as Ambe bahar (flowering in February), Mrig bahar (flowering in June) and Hasta bahar (flowering in October). Bahar treatment: Objective: Treatment of the plant to get fruitful yield in any of the 3 flowering season. Mainly practiced in south and central India. Methods 1.Root exposure and with holding of irrigation- expose the root to sun (1-2 months before flowering) by removing 7-10 cm soil around 40-60 cm radius of the trunk. This will results in the wilting of entire leaves. At this stage roots will again covered with mixture of soil and FYM and irrigate immediately. This will helps in the commencement of new vegetative growth instead of flowering which will flowers and fruits profusely in the subsequent season. In light sandy and shallow soil- exposure of root- not practiced. Only withholding of irrigation for 2-3 weeks is practiced Choice of bahar- depend of the grower to get max. profit. In central India, farmers mainly prefer mrig bahar, so that plants are forced to rest in April-May and no water is required at that time. For better quality fruit- hasta bahar 2.By chemical means- Application of NAA @ 250-600 ppm and 2,4-D @ 100-300 ppm at flowering of undesirable bahar- cause drop of entire flower, resulting heavy flowering and fruiting at desirable bahar. Climate: Citrus fruits in India are cultivated under varied agro-ecological conditions right from arid and semiarid areas of southwest region to humid tropical climate of northeast India. Citrus trees are evergreen, grown in truly subtropical climates of the world although in tropical regions of the world they tend to produce cyclic growth flushes and hence regulating cropping in tropical areas for forcing them into concentrated bloom needs judicious management of water deficit stress according to soil type and growing season. Citrus fruits grow best between a temperature range of 13°C to 37°C. Temperatures below – 4°C are harmful for the young plants. Soil temperature around 25°C seems to be optimum for root growth. High humidity favours spread of many diseases. Frost is highly injurious. Hot wind during summer results in desiccation and drop of flowers and developing fruits. Barring these limitations citrus is grown in all subtropical and tropical areas of the world. The sub-tropical climate is best suited for citrus growth and development. Khasi and Darjeeling mandarins are grown in high altitudes upto 2000 m as it is adapted to a cooler climate. Soil: Citrus plants are grown in a wide range of soils ranging from sandy loam or alluvial soils of north India to clay loam or deep clay loam or lateritic/acidic soils in the Deccan plateau and north-eastern hills. Citrus orchards flourish well in light soils with good drainage properties. Deep soils with pH range of 5.5 to 7.5 are considered ideal. However, they can also be grown in a pH range of 4.0 to 9.0. High calcium carbonate concentration in feeder root zone may adversely affect the growth. Planting Material: Availability of quality planting material is of utmost importance in citrus cultivation. Citrus plants are very sensitive to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore selection of an ideal rootstock is a continuing challenge for the citrus industry of India. Currently used rootstocks viz. rough lemon and Rangpur lime have gone through a lot of variation over the last five decades. Therefore ideal selections developed from the conventional rootstocks by National Research Centre for Citrus (NRCC), Nagpur and at other places under State Agriculture Universities may be obtained for propagating quality planting material. For budwood selection, disease free mother plants developed from the elite progeny of known pedigree through shoot tip grafting method available at NRCC, Nagpur may only be used. Primary nursery beds are prepared on light fertile soils or in the HDPE trays under shade net structures. Selection of nucellar seedlings is done by eliminating weak seedlings, off types and non uniform seedlings in 2-3 stages in the nursery beds. Secondary nursery seedlings may be raised in polythene bags also as they become ready for plantation in the main field after attaining the height of about 30-40 cm after one year. Land preparation: Land needs to be thoroughly ploughed and levelled. In hilly areas, planting is done on terraces against the slopes and on such lands, high density planting is possible as more aerial space is available than in flat lands. Since citrus trees are highly sensitive to water logging and water stagnation during rainy season providing drainage channels of 3-4 feet depth along the slopes around the orchard is essential. Plant density Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) Normal spacing – 6 m x 6 m ; Plant population – 277/ ha Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) Normal spacing - 5 m x 5 m, 5.5 x 5.5 m; Plant population – 400/330 per ha Limes/lemons (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle &Citrus limon) Normal spacing – 6 x 6 m / 5 x 5 m, Plant population – 277/400 per ha In light soils, spacing will be 4.5 x 4.5 m or 5 x 5 m Planting The best season of planting is June to August. Pits of the size of 1m x 1m x 1m may be dug for planting seedlings. 15-20 kg of FYM and 500 g of super phosphate is applied per pit while planting. With good irrigation system, planting can be done in other months also. Irrigation Citrus requires critical stage watering in the initial year. It further reduces fruit drop and increases the fruit size. Diseases like root rot and collar rot occur in flooded conditions. Light irrigation with high frequency is beneficial. Irrigation water containing more than 1000 ppm salts is injurious. Quantity of water and frequency of irrigation depends on the soil texture and growth stage. Micro-irrigation systems not only save water and nutrients but also ensure good retention of fruits during crucial stages of crop growth in March – April even in situations where water is not a limitation. Manures & fertilizers Manuring is done in three equal doses three times in a year in February, June and September. The recommended manurial and fertilizers doses are given below- FYM I Yr II Yr III Yr IV Yr V Yr VI Yr VII Yr onwards Kg/plant 20 10 15 20 25 30 40 Nutrients I Yr II Yr III Yr IV Yr V Yr VI Yr onwards Nitrogen 100 200 300 400 450 500 Phosphorus 50 100 150 200 200 250 Potash 25 50 75 200 200 250 ZNSO4 25 25 50 50 100 150 FeSO4 25 25 50 50 100 150 MnSO4 25 25 50 50 100 150 Interculture Ploughing, spading of basins, weed control, etc., are important inter-culture operations for soil aeration and health. Chemical control of weeds with pre-emergence weedicides like diuron (3 Kg/ha), simazine (4 Kg/ha), glyphosate 4 l/ha, paraquat (2 l/ha), etc. may also be adopted. Intercrops Leguminous crops like soybean, gram, groundnut, cow peas, french bean, peas etc., may be grown in citrus orchards. Intercropping is advisable during the initial three-four years after planting. Training and Pruning In order to allow the growth of a strong trunk, initially shoots upto 40-50 cm from the ground level should be removed. The centre of the plant should remain open. Branches should be well distributed to all sides. Cross twigs and water suckers are to be removed early. The bearing trees require little or no pruning. All diseased, injured and drooping branches and dead wood are to be removed periodically. Harvesting There are two main crops in mandarins and sweet oranges. One is called as Ambiabahar (mango flowering) the flowering of which occurs in the month of January (at the time of flowering of mango hence the name Ambia) the fruits of which are available in the months of October- December The other crop is Mrigbahar(Monsoon bloom) the flowering of which occurs in the month of June-July and the fruits are harvested during February-April. Mandarins and sweet oranges normally take 240-280 days to arrive at maturity. Mature fruits at colour break stage are picked up in 2 - 3 intervals of 10-15 days. Limes and lemons take 150-160 days for maturity. There may be 2 or 3 crops in a year in limes and lemons. Yield Mandarin: Commences from the 5th year with about 50 fruits per tree and stabilises in the 8th year. Average production is about 700-800 fruits per tree after stabilisation. Sweet Orange: Commences from 5th year with 40-50 fruits per tree& stabilises around the 8th year. Average production is about 500-600 fruits per tree after stabilisation. Lime/Lemon :Commences from the 3rd year with 50-60 fruits per tree & stabilises in the 8th year. Average production is about 1000-1500 fruits per tree after stabilisation. Economic life of plantation: 15 to 25 years  Lecture 6: Grape Botanical Name: Vitis vinifera. Family: Vitaceae Origin: Black sea- Caspian sea Type of fruit Berry Edible part: Mesocarp and placenta Inflorescence: Panicle Chromosome no.: vinifera=38 and rotundifolia = 40 Grape is one of the oldest fruits being grown by man. However, it was introduced into north India from Iran and Afghanistan in 1300 AD by the Muslim invaders; and into south India in 1832 by the Christian missionaries from France. Grape was well known to people even in ancient India but it was not commercially cultivated until the 14th century. Presently grape cultivation is concentrated in the peninsular India, accounting for 90% of the total area. Major grape-growing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the north-western region covering Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Climate: Temperature, humidity and light are important for grapes. Hot and dry climate is ideal. Areas with high rainfall are not suitable. Mild temperature, not exceeding 35 C in summers, impairs the fruiting of vinifera grapes, particularly, in Thompson Seedless. Higher night temperatures (above 25 C) during ripening hamper the colour development in coloured grapes. Under high humid conditions, the vines put forth excessive vegetative growth at the expense of fruiting. Berries do not ripen properly. Disease incidence is high. The total amount of rainfall is not the criterion, but the timing frequency and duration of rainfall are important considerations for grape cultivation. Rains associated with cloudy weather and poor sunlight during 45-60 days after back pruning in the tropical India reduce the fruitful buds in a vine. Rainfall during flowering and berry ripening cause enormous damage to gapes. If rains coincide with flowering, the panicles are destroyed by downy mildew. Rains during ripening cause berry cracking and rotting. Soil: Grapes are grown on a variety of soils in India, alluvial in north, heavy black clay in Maharashtra and north Karnataka, red loam in southern Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and very light sandy locally called „Chalka‟ soils in Andhra Pradesh. Soil with good drainage and water- holding capacity in a pH range of 6.5-7.5 is ideally-suited for grapes. Presence of excess salts, particularly sodium and free calcium is detrimental for grapes. Vines become weak and their productive life span is reduced. Varieties: More than 20 varieties are under cultivation. However, only a dozen are commercially grown. They can be grouped under 4 categories based on colour and seeds. They are: Coloured Bangalore Blue (Muscat), Gulabi seeded Coloured Beauty Seedless and Sharad Seedless seedless White - seeded Anab-e Shahi, Dilkhush (clone of Anab-e Shahi) White - seedless Perlette, Pusa Seedless, Thompson Seedless, and Its clones Tas-A-Ganesh, Sonaka andManik Chaman Other popular Arka Hans- known for making white wine, Kishmish Beli- famous for making varieties are raisin Hybrids Pusa Navrang (Angenine x Rubi Red), Pusa Urvashi (Hur x Beauty Seedless, Arkavati (Black Champa x Thompson Seedless, Arka Hans ( Anab-e Shahi x Thompson Seedless) Currently, Thompson Seedless is the ruling grape, occupying 55% of the area with its clones. Bangalore Blue occupies approximately 15% of the total area while Anab-e-Shahi and Dilkhush (15%), Sharad Seedless (5%), Perlette (5%) and Gulabi and Bhokri together (5%). Propagation Grape is commercially propagated by hardwood stem cuttings. Four - noded cuttings from well mature canes on proven vines are made. The diameter of cuttings should be 8-10mm. Cutting are mostly obtained from October pruning in the peninsula. Rooting of cuttings is not a problem. However, Thompson Seedless roots are poorer than Anab-e-Shahi or Bangalore Blue but to increase the rooting of stem cuttings, they should either be soaked or dipped to cover the basal buds in IBA solution. For overnight soaking, 500 ppm IBA solution is used, while 2000 ppm solution is used for quick dipping for 10sec. before planting the cuttings. Quick dip method is preferred. Cutting after treating with IBA should be planted in the nursery or directly in the field. Rootstock: Rootstocks are employed for grapes to overcome salinity, nematode damage and to impart vigour to vines. In normal soils with good and adequate water for irrigation, rootstock is not necessary. In nematode-prone soils, the rootstock 1613 can be used for Anab-e-Shahi or Thompson Seedless. In saline soils, Dog ridge is better. Use of Dog ridge in non-saline, nematode-free soils, particularly under mild climatic conditions makes the vines barren by imparting excess vigour. Temple rootstock is used for resistance against Pierce‟s disease. Planting: Before plating the rooted/UN rooted cuttings in the main field, the land is cleared of all bushes and levelled. Trenches or pit 1m wide and 75 cm deep are opened. When plant spacing within a row is less than 2m, continuous trenches are made. The pits/trenches are filled with farmyard manure, green manure/leaf-mould, bone-meal (1kg), super phosphate (1kg) and allowed to settle by watering. Cuttings are planted in their position by opening a small pit. A mixture of sand, well-rotten manure and super phosphate (0.5kg) is packed around the cutting in the pit. The soil around the planted cuttings is drenched with a solution of Chlorpyriphos. October is ideal time for planting the unrooted cuttings directly in the field. Rooted cuttings are planted in January-February. Spacing of vines depends on the variety, vigour of vines and system of training Generally Anab-e-Shahi and Dilkhush vines are spaced at 3.3 x 6.6m or 5.0m x 5.0m. The spacing of vines of seedlings varieties varies from 1.2m to 2.0m within a row and 2.7 to 3.6m between rows when trained to „T‟ or „Y‟ trellis. For Thompson Seedless, the spacing of 1.8m x 3.0m is ideal for bower and „Y‟ trellies trained vines respectively. Flowering: The flowers in grapes are borne in clusters. They are perfect, pistillate or staminate. Berry set from pollination, fertilization and seed development. In seedless varieties berry develop by parthenocarpy. The type of parthenocarpy in grape is vegetative (Black Corinth) and stenospermocarpy (Perlette, Beauty Seedless, Pusa Seedless, Delight, Thompson seedless). Most of the grape varieties are self pollinated but varieties like Banqui, Abyad and Hur having pistillate flowers require cross pollination. Training: Different systems of training-head, kniffin, telephone, V, expanded Y and gable-are in vogue in India. Productive potential of vines is better exploited on bower than on any other system of training. But this system is expensive, encourages diseases, and is not suitable for mechanization of cultural operations. On head, Kniffin and telephone systems of training not only the yields are low but the fruits are exposed to sun resulting in sun-burn, but the yield is the same. The expanded Y with long arms and gable system connecting the side arms of adjacent rows are best-suited for training seedless grapes, since these systems posses the advantages of bower and at the same time do not have disadvantages associated with it. Pruning: In north India, vines are pruned in winter (December-January). Half of the canes are pruned to renew spurs and the rest for fruiting canes. One or two buds from the cordon (arm) are retained in renewed at spurs and 12 buds are retained on fruiting canes. The numbers of buds left on fruiting canes depend on variety and thickness of cane. Thick canes are pruned longer and the thin shorter. The fruited canes are pruned to renewal spurs and the canes developed from renewal spurs are pruned to fruiting canes in the next winter. In Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and north Karnataka, vines are pruned twice (April and October). The April pruning is generally termed as back pruning or foundation pruning. While October pruning is called fruit pruning or forward pruning. All the canes are pruned to spurs at back pruning, irrespective of the variety or cane thickness. The number of buds retained on a cane at forward pruning depends on variety and cane thickness. Manuring and fertilization: The nutrient status of vines is far in excess than required leading to certain nutrient imbalances; particularly Mg deficiency as a result of heavy doses of K. Grape requires more K than N which in turn is required more than P. However, P is required at the time of fruit-bud formation when N requirements are less. The N is required more for shoot growth during the fruiting season. Whereas K is required after bud differentiation for shoot maturity and increasing the size of fruit-bud. It is also required after berry set until ripening. Heavy dose of cattle manure is applied to improve soil structure and to increase its moisture-holding capacity. About 25-50 tonnes of well-decomposed cattle manure, 5 tonnes of oil cake (deoiled) and 1,200 kg of organic mixture should be applied every in a hectare crop. When such organic nutrients are applied, the inorganic doses are proportionately reduced. Among the nutrient deficiencies, Mg deficiency is universal. About 100-200 kg of magnesium sulphate/ha/year should be applied depending upon the severity of its deficiency. While 50 kg is applied after 30 days of April pruning, the rest is applied in 2 splits during the fruiting season once at berry set and again after a month. Irrigation: Grape is a shallow feeder. Light and frequent watering is better for grapes. Water requirement of grape are very high during berry growth. This period coinciding with hot and dry weather, more water is required at this stage. Least water is required during fruit-bud formation. This period if coincides with cloudy weather and rains, watering are totally to be stopped. Reduced irrigation during ripening, i.e. (one month prior to harvesting) improve the quality of grapes and hastens ripening. Too much stress during ripening can also increase the berry drop at and after harvesting. Weed control: Farmyard manure and compost are the major sources of weed seeds from outside. The problematic weeds in vineyards are Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) and nut grass (Cyperus rotundus). The weed intensity is less in bower trained vineyards. Mechanical control is most common means of weed control in India. Dhaincha and sun hemp are grown as intercrops to check the weeds in vineyards trained to T, V or Y trellises. Post-emergent weedicides-Paraquat (7.5 kg/ha) or Glyphosate (2.0 kg/ha), is also recommended. Glyphosate offers a long time control of weeds as compared to Paraquat. Use of growth regulations: Growth regulators CCC, GA and hydrogen cyanamide are being used commercially in grapes. The CCC is used to suppress the vigour of vines and increase the fruitfulness of buds. It is sprayed at 500 ppm concentration at 5-leaf stage after back pruning. If weather is cloudy, cool and rainy, it is sprayed on the foliage once again at 10-leaf stage. Gibberallic acid (GA) is used invariably in all seedless varieties. It is sprayed at 10 ppm to elongate the clusters, 22-25 days after forward pruning (4-5_leaf stage). It is also sprayed on clusters @ 40 ppm at 50% bloom stage for thinning the berries and improving yield and fruit quality. Hydrogen cyanamide is used to hasten and increase the bud-break at winter pruning Harvesting and Yield: Grape is a non climacteric fruit and are harvested when fully ripe, since they do not ripen after harvesting. In seeded grapes, the seeds become dark brown when they are fully ripe, while in seedless varieties, their characteristic berry colour develops fully. The productivity of grape 21.1 tonnes/ha of India is highest in the world. Grape variety Anab-e- Shahi has recorded yield as high as 92 tonnes/ha, whereas Thompson Seedless has 48 tonnes/ha. The average yield of Anab-e-Shahi and Bangalore Blue is 40-50 tonnes/ha, while that of seedless varieties is 20 tonnes/ha. Products: About 80% of the grapes produced in the world are used for wine making. But in India, most of the grapes produced irrespective by variety, are consumed fresh. Negligible quantities of Bangalore Blue are crushed to make juice and wine for household consumption. Wine is also produced in India with French collaboration by some private industries growing certain French varieties. Raisins are the only processed products in India. However the quality of the grapes grown in India is not good enough for making of raisins, which require 24 to 28 percent sugars, which includes no sucrose. The sugar content of grape grown in India varies from 13-22 percent. Approximately 30% of seedless grapes are dried to produce 15,000 tonnes of raisin. Golden bleached raisins are produced by shade drying the clusters after dipping in either boiling solution of sodium hydroxide (0.2-0.3%) and exposing to sulphur fumes. Dipping in soda oil (dipping oil) containing ethyl oleate and potassium carbonate and shade drying is the most common method of preparing raisins in India. Seeded grapes of Anab-e-Shahi are also dried in very small quantities to make raisins. Physiological disorders Of physiological disorders, uneven ripening, post-harvest berry drop, flower-bud and flower drop and pink berry formation are major ones. Uneven ripening: Presence of green berries in a ripe bunch of coloured grapes is called uneven ripening. It is varietal character and a problem in Bangalore Blue, Bangalore Purple, Beauty Seedless and Gulabi grapes. Within a variety this problem varies from bunch-to-bunch. Generally inadequate leaf area and non-availability of reserves to a developing bunch is the reason. Cultural practices like cluster thinning, girdling and use of growth regulators can reduce uneven ripening. Application of Ethephon (250 ppm) at colour break stage is recommended to reduce the problem. Postharvest berry drop: This is due to weak pedicel attachment to the berries. This is common in Anab-e-Shahi, Cheema Sahebi and Beauty Seedless. Spraying of NAA (50 ppm), a week prior to harvesting can minimize the post-harvest berry drop. Flower-bud and flower drop: When panicles are fully expanded, the flower buds drop before the fruit set. This is common in north India but not in the south. The reasons for this disorder are not known. Stem girdling about 10 days prior to full bloom can reduce and problem. Pink berry formation: It is a common disorder in Thompson Seedless and its clone Tas-A- Ganesh in Maharashtra. Pink blush develops on a few ripe berries close to harvesting. The pink colour turns to dull red colour and the berries become soft and watery. They do not stand for long after harvesting. Although the definite cause of the disorder is not known, it is recommended to spray a mixture of 0.2% ascorbic acid and 0.25% sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate at fortnightly intervals commencing berry softening. Some important points you need to know about grapes  Deciduous in North India while as evergreen in South India.  The cane cut back to one or two buds to produce fruiting wood for the next year is called Renewal Spur  Vitis vinifera is self pollinated Vitis rotundifolia is cross pollinated  Lecture 7: GUAVA INTRODUCTION Guava (Psidium guajava) is one of the important commercial fruits in India. It is the fourth most important fruit after mango, banana and citrus Family: Myrtaceae Chromosome no. X=11, 2n=22, 33 Inflorescence: Solitary Type of fruit: Berry Origin Guava is native to tropical America where it occurs wild. It was introduced in India in the seventeen century. Economic Importance The fruit is a good source of vitamin C, pectin, calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin C content is the highest in fruit peel at mature stage. The fruit is used for the preparation of processed products like jams, jellies and nectar. Guava jelly puree is very popular for its attractive purplish-red colour, pleasant taste and aroma. The puree can be used in juice, cakes, puddings, sauces, ice-cream, jam and jelly. Fruits can be preserved by canning as halves or quarters, with or without seed core (shells). Good quality salad can be prepared from the shell of ripe fruits. Agro-Climatic Requirements Guava is grown in both tropical and sub-tropical regions upto 1,500 m. above m.s.l. It tolerates high temperatures and drought conditions prevalent in north India in summers. However, it is susceptible to severe frost as it can kill the young plants. An annual rainfall of about 100 cm. is sufficient during the rainy season (July-September). Rainfall during the harvesting period deteriorates the quality of fruits. Soil Guava adapts well to a wide range of soils. Well-drained, light sandy loam to clay soils is good. Since it is a hardy fruit crop, it can be grown on alkaline soils wastelands etc. It is sensitive to waterlogged conditions. It tolerates a wide range of pH from 4.5 to 8.5.If the soils are having a pH of 7.5 and above there are more chances of getting guava wilt. Some varieties like Lucknow- 49 can be grown in saline soils also. Varieties Cultivated Important guava varieties cultivated in different states of India are given below : State Varieties grown Andhra Pradesh - Allahabad safeda, Lucknow 49, Anakapalli, Banarasi, Chittidar, Hafshi, Sardar, Smooth Green, Safed Jam, Arka Mridula Madhya Pradesh - L-49, Allahabad safeda, Gwalior-27, Hafshi, Seedless Chittidar Jharkhad - L-49, Allahabad safeda Karnataka - Allahabad Safeda, L-49, Araka Mridula, Araka Amulya, Bangalore, Dharwar  Assam - Am Sophri, Madhuri Am, Safrior Payere Bihar & - Allahabad Safeda, Apple Colour, Chittidar, Hafshi, Harijha, Jharkhand Sardar, Selection-8, Pant Prabhat Maharashtra & - Nagpur seedless, Dharwar, Dholka, Kothrud, L-24, L-49, Nasik, Gujarat Sindh North-eastern - Allahabad Safeda, Sardar, Red Fleshed. States Tamil Nadu - Anakapalli, Banarasi, Bangalore, Chittidar, Hafshi, Nagpur Seedless, Smooth Green Uttar Pradesh - L-49, Allahabad Safeda, Lucknow Safeda, Apple Colour, Chittidar, Red Fleshed, Allahabad Surkha, Sardar, Mirzapuri Seedless, CISH-G-1, CISH-G-2, CISH-G-3 West Bengal - L-49, Allahabad Safeda, Dudhe Khaja, Gole Khaja, Kabli, Baruipur, Chittidar,  Lalit and Hafshi are red fleshed cultivar in guava  Chittidar is red dotted skin cultivar in guava  L-49 (Sardar Guava) is a chance seedling selection from Allahabad safeda in 1927 made at Ganesh Khind Fruit Research Station Pune by G.S.Cheema and Deshmukh.  L-49 is tolerant to guava wilt.  Kohir safed (Kohir × Allahabad safeda) and Safed Jam (Allahabad safeda ×Kohir) are improved cultivars of guava developed in sangareddy, A.P. Rootstocks 1. Psidium friedrichsthalianum (Chinese guava) Dwarfing and wilt resistant 2. Psidium Pumilim Most dwarfing 3. Strawberry guava/cattleya guava (P. cattleianum is considered as an important species for use as a root stock 4. Aneuploid 82- Pusa Srijan ( Semi dwarfing rootstock) Flowering and fruiting The guava bears flowers solitary or in cymes of two or three flowers, on the current seasons growth in the axils of leaves. The bearing twigs grow a few centimeters long, putting forth 4-5 pairs of leaves. The blooming period varies from 25-45 days depending on the cultivar, season and region. The initial fruit set is quite high and approximately 80% of flowers set fruits. Afterwards due to severe fruit drop only 34 - 56 per cent of fruits reach maturity. In cultivars like seedless, the final retention is as low as 6 percent. Propagation Plants are vegetatively propagated by Stooling, inarching or air layering. Now wedge grafting is also reported successful in guava. Planting Season Planting is done during the rainy season. June-July is the ideal time for planting the layers and seedling. Spacing The plants are usually planted at a distance of 5-8 m. The exact planting distance is decided according to variety, soil fertility and availability of irrigation facilities. Standard spacing is 6 m. x 6 m. accommodating 112 plants/acre. By increasing the plant density, productivity can be increased. In the model scheme, a spacing of 6 m. x 6 m. with a population of 110 plants per acre has been considered which was commonly observed in areas covered during a field study. High density planting causes erect growth of branches making the plant tall, compact and also give higher yield/unit area in early years of fruiting. Plants are planted at a distance of 2.5 m in HDP. Planting Method Square system of planting is generally adopted. Pits of 1x1x1m. size are dug before the monsoon and filled with a mixture of farmyard manure and soil. Nutrition Time of fertilizer application depends on the region and crop variety. In north India, fertilizer is applied in the first week of May for rainy season crop and in first week of July for winter season crop. The plants are manured twice a year, first during June-July and second by during October. A fertilizer dose of 600 g. N, 400 g. K in Northern Region, 260 g. N, 320 g. P and 260 g. K in Eastern Region, 900 g. N, 600 g. P and 600 g. K in Southern Region and 600 g. N, 300 g. P and 300g. K/plant /year in Western Region is recommended. Irrigation Guava is mostly grown under rainfed condition. During winter season, irrigation is provided at an interval of 20-25 days and in the summer months it is provided at an interval of 10-15 days by the ring method. Drip Irrigation Drip irrigation has proved to be very beneficial for guava. About 60% of the water used for irrigation is saved. Besides substantial increase in size and number of fruits is observed. Training & Pruning Training of plants in young stage is essential in order to build a strong framework and to avoid weak crotches. Fruiting trees are pruned to check overcrowding in the orchard. The plants are trained as low headed trees to facilitate multiple hand pickings. Guava is generally trained to modified leader system. Pruning is usually recommended after harvesting or in spring. Summer pruning is generally avoided as the plants get damaged due to sun burn. Bending It is a common feature that in the guava trees branches growing upright and tall don„t bear at all. In such cases, straight-growing branches may be bent and tied on the pegs driven on the ground. In bent branches dormant buds are activated and induced to bear flowers and fruits heavily. This method is successful especially in varieties, which grow erect and bear little fruits. Intercultural Operations Weeds are usually removed by shallow cultivation. Green manuring is usually done during rainy season. Pre-emergence use of diuron (1.6 kg./ha.), oryzalin (1.67 litres/ha.), simazine (1.6 kg./ha.) or atrazine (1.6 kg./ha.) has been found to be effective in control of weeds in guava orchards. Mulching Dry leaves or straw are used as mulching material. Mulching can also be done either with black polycthylene sheet or with organic materials. Mulching the soil at least twice a year helps in conserving moisture and improving the fruit quality. Inter-cropping Leguminous crops or vegetable can be grown as intercrops during the first three years of planting provided irrigation facility is available. Growth Regulators The winter crop is much superior in quality compared to the monsoon crop. Farmers often reduce monsoon crop by deblossoming to get a higher price. This is done by growth regulators like maleic hydrazide on spring flush of flowers. Growth regulators like NAA, NAD and 2, 4D have been found to be effective in thinning of flowers and also manipulating the cropping season. Plant Protection Measures Insect Pests The insect pests mostly observed are fruit fly, stem borer, bark eating caterpillar, thrips, nematodes, mealy bug and scale insect. Spraying with malathion (2ml.), phosphamidon (0.5ml. per ltr. of water), monocrotophos, dimethoate etc. has been found to be effective in most cases. Apart from that adoption of suitable cultural practices and destruction of infected plants needs to be done. Diseases The main diseases reported are wilt, fruit canker,fruit rot, anthrachose and grey leaf spot. Application of Carbendazim / Thiophanate methyl (1g./l) or Kavach / Mancozeb (2 g/l) depending upon the type of infection has been found to be effective in controlling the diseases. Disorders Fruit drop is a serious disorder in guava resulting in about 45-65% loss due to different physiological and environmental factors. Spraying of GA has been found to be effective in reducing the fruit drop in guava. Bronzing of guava has been observed in places having low soil fertility and low pH. Affected plants show purple to red specks scattered all over the leaves. Under aggravated condition, total defoliation and fruits characterized with brown coloured patterns on the skin, with reduced yield are noticed. Foliar application of 0.5% diammonium phosphate and zinc sulphate in combination at weekly intervals for two months reduces the bronzing in guava. Pre-flowering sprays with 0.4% boric acid and 0.3% zinc sulphate increase the yield and fruit size. Spraying of copper sulphate at 0.2 to 0.4% also increases the growth and yield of guava. Harvesting and Yield The plants start bearing at an early age of 2-3 years but they attain full bearing capacity at the age of 8-10 years. The yield of a plant depends on its age, cropping pattern and the cultural practices. A 10 year old plant yields about 100 to 150 kg. of fruits every year. If both rainy and winter season crops are taken, more yields may be obtained in the rainy season. 12-15 t/ha in conventional where as 25-30 t/ha yield are reported. Guavas are harvested throughout the year (except during May and June) in one or the other region of the country. However, peak harvesting periods in north India are August for rainy season crop, November- December for winter season crop and March-April for spring season crop. In the mild climatic conditions of the other parts of the country, the peak harvesting periods are not so distinct. Guava fruits develop best flavour and aroma only when they ripen on tree. In most of the commercial varieties, the stage of fruit ripeness is indicated by the colour development which is usually yellow. For local markets, fully yellow but firm fruits are harvested, whereas half yellow fruits are picked for distant markets. Fruits are harvested selectively by hand along with the stalk and leaves. Guava fruits can be stored for 4 weeks at 8-10 degree Celsius and 80-90% humidity.  LECTURE 8: CROP REGULATION IN GUAVA Undernaturalconditions,guavatreeproducesflowersandafruittwiceinayearin NorthIndia,butinSouthandWesternIndiaitisthricei.e.almostthroughouttheyear, whichresultsinnorest period and ultimately guavatree, bearssmallcropsat different timesoftheyear.Under north India, two distinct seasons of flowering spring summer (April- May) and in monsoon (July-August) occur from which fruits ripen during rainy and winter season, respectively. The winter season crop is considered superior in quality than rainy season crop. A good harvest is possible only if crop is regulated to single season (bahar). The pattern offloweringandfruitingperiods inguava are: Ambe-bahar: WhenguavatreeflowersduringMarch-Aprilorspringseason,this floweringperiodisknownasAmbe-bahar.ThefruitsripefromJuly-Septemberinrainy season.Thefruitsobtainedduring thisseasonareinsipid,wateryandpoorinquality i.e.taste andkeeping quality. Mrig-bahar:WhenguavaproducesflowersinJuly-Augustormonsoon,this-flowering periodisknownasMrig-bahar.ThefruitsripefromNovember-Januaryin the winter. Thefruits obtainedduringwinter are excellentinqualityand therefore,theguava trees are madetoproducetheMrig-baharflowering only. Hasth-bahar:Sometimes,guava treeproducesflowersinOctoberareknownas Hasth- bahar.ThefruitsripefromFebruary-April.The equalityisgood,butyieldisvery low.However,itfetchesgoodprice. Thisbaharinguavaisnotverycommon. Itis mostlyachancecrop.Hast-bahar is observedinwestern andsouthern India. Cropregulation(BaharTreatment):ThroughoutIndia,Mrig-baharispreferredover ambeandHast-bahars.Therefore,itbecomenecessarytoregulateflowering,sothat Mrig-bahar can produce heavy flowering and fruits areavailable in winter.The practicesfollowedfor takingMrig-baharare: Restrictingirrigationwater:ThetreesshouldnotbegivenirrigationfromFebruaryto middleofMay. Doingso,thetreeshedsitsleavesduringhotseason(April-May)and goestorest. Duringthisrestperiod, treecanconservefoodmaterialinitsbranches. InthemonthofJunetreeiswellcultivatedandmanuredfollowedbyirrigation. After about20- 25daysthetreeblazeintoprofuse blossoms. Thefruitsmatureduring winter. Exposing roots: Carefullyuppersoilaroundthetrunkabout45-60cmradiusis removed,sothattherootsareexposedtothesunwhichresultsinreductioninsupply ofsoil moisturefromthesoilto the top and therefore,theleaves begintoshed and the treegoestorest. Afterabout3-4weekstheexposedroots areagaincoveredwiththe soil. Manuring andwateringmaybefollowed. De-blossoming: Itcanbedonewiththeuseofgrowthregulators. Spray urea 10 percent or napthale acetic acid (NAA)@ 600 ppm during May when maximum flowers have opened. Each tree needs about 10-12 liters of solution. Deblossmingcan alsobedonemanuallyonsmallscale. WhenflowersofAmbe-bahararede-blossomedorthinned,thetreebecomemore potentialto producemoreflowers andfruits inMrig-bahar. Pruning: Pruning of terminal portions of the shoots up to 20 or 30 cm between 20 to 30 April avoids completely the rainy season crop. Inorganic fertilizers: Apply inorganic fertilizers during the month of June to encourage growth in July-August for getting maximum flowering during August-September for winter season crop.  Lecture 9: SAPOTA  Botanical name Achraszapota  Family: Sapotaceae  Origin: Mexico(Tropical America)  Inflorescence: Solitary  Type of fruit: Drupe  Chromosome no: X=13, 2n=26  Edible portion Mesocarp INTRODUCTION Sapota (Achraszapota) commonly known as chiku is mainly cultivated in India for its fruit value, while in South-East Mexico, Guatemala and other countries it is commercially grown for the production of chickle which is a gum like substance obtained from latex and is mainly used for preparation of chewing gum. Sapota, when fully ripe, is delicious and is eaten as dessert fruit. The pulp is sweet and melting. Origin Sapota is originated in tropical America, introduced in 1898 in the state of Maharashtra now leading state in its production and productivity. Economic Importance The fruit is a good source of digestible sugar (15-20%) and an appreciable source of protein, fat, fibre and minerals (Ca, P and Fe.) Sapota pulp is used for making sweets and halwas. It is also an ingredient of fruit salads and milk shakes. The milky latex secreted by unripe sapotafruits , known as chuckle forms the base for making chicklet and chewing gum. Climate and soil Sapota, a crop of tropical region, needs warm (10-38 C) and humid (70 % relative humidity) climate where it flowers and fruits throughout the year. However, if taken to subtropics or to places of higher elevation like in Punjab and Haryana, it gives only one crop from summer flowering in April and May. Under moisture stress also, it produces one crop only. Soil Alluvial, sandy loam, red laterite and medium black soils with good drainage are ideal for cultivation of sapota. Flowering Sapotastartsbearingsmallcropsfromsecondorthirdyear of planting but economical yields can be obtained from seventh year onward.Undertropicalconditions,flowersare seenalmostthroughouttheyear.However,therearetwomainseasonsofflowering i.e.March-April andSeptember-Octoberandhence,two harvestingseasons. The flowers are protogynous in nature. Therefore planting of single sapota tree in home garden is not recommended. Sapota is a cross pollinated crop. Varieties There are about 41 varieties spread all over the country. However, commercially sapota industry is based on a few varieties and in some areas it is only monoculture like Kalipatte in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Distribution of cultivars in India according to region is given in table Distribution of sapota cultivars in India State Cultivars Andhra Pradesh Pala, Kirtibarthi, Cricket Ball, Dwarapudi and Guthi Gujarat Jonavalasa Maharashtra Kalipatti, Bhuripatti, Pilipatti, DholaDiwani, Jhaumakhia and Cricket Ball Karnataka Kalipatti, Cricket Ball and Murraba Tamil Nadu Kalipatti, Cricket Ball, Kirtibarthi, DHS1and DHS2 Others Guthi, Kirtibarthi, Pala, Co1, Co2 and PKM1 Cricket Ball, Calcutta Special, Round, Oval and Baramasi  CO1 is a hybrid between Cricket Ball and Oval.  CO2 is a clonal selection from Baramasi.  PKM-1 is a clonal selection from Guthi. It is dwarf.  CO1, CO2, Cricket Ball, Kallipati are resistant to leaf spot of sapota. While calcuttia Round is most susceptible.  DHS1, DHS2, PKM2, PKM3 are hybrids of sapota. Rootstocks  Khirni (Manilkarahexandra)  Adam‟s apple (M. kauki)  Mahua (Madhucalatifolia) Land Preparation The land is ploughed two to three times and then leveled. Undulating land is divided into terraces and leveling is done. Tall and thick growing trees viz. mango, jamun, tamarind, silver oak and casuarinas are established on the wind-ward side or on all sides of the orchard. The plants for windbreak may be planted at a distance of 1.5 to 1.8 m. in the row. Propagation and rootstocks Sapota is propagated through seed, which has been the basis of its variability in India. But inarching, using Manilkarahexandra (called khirni or rayan in India) as a rootstock, is used in India. Air layering and softwood cuttings, using IBA (2,000ppm) treatment are also successful methods for sapota propagation. But plants which are raised through air layering or cuttings establish poorly and are vulnerable to wind damage. Planting season Planting can be done in any season provided irrigation facilities are available. Grafts are usually planted in the beginning of the rainy season. In areas which experience heavy rainfall the crop can be planted as late as September. Spacing On an average, 130 plants are planted at a spacing of 8.5m. High density planting with a spacing of 5x5 m. upto the age of 13 years has been adopted successfully. In light soils, pits of 60x60x60 cm. size, whereas in heavy and gravely soils pits of 1x1x1 m. size are made in April-May and exposed to sun for a period of fifteen days. The pits are later on filled with well-rotten compost or farmyard manure, 3 kg. superphosphate and 1.5 kg. muriate of potash. The pits are then left to monsoon rains for settling and planting is done at appropriate tme. Grafts, budded plants or layers are planted one in each pit and care is taken so that the bud joint or graft is at least 15 cm. above the ground level. After planting, stakes are provided to avoid wind damage. Young plants are protected from the sun by making dry grass thatch on top and three sides excepting the south-east for sunlight. Planting Method Square system of planting is recommended. Contour planting is recommended in case of sloping land. Training and pruning A seedlings tree grows excellently giving a shape of an umbrella. However, plants raised through inarching require training for appropriate shape and frame work development. No definite system of training has been developed for sapota. Most trees are trained in central leader system. Sapota being an evergreen tree requires no regular pruning but regulation of vegetative growth to improve productivity and quality of fruits is necessary. At times thinning of branches is affected in old plantation. Pruning in sapota is confined to open the tree to light, and removal of dead and diseased branches. Nutrition About 50 kg. of farmyard manure , 1 kg. N (1.5 kg. in case of rainfed varieties), 0.5 kg. P2O5 and 0.5 kg. K2O /tree/year are applied and the dose is regulated on the basis of age of the tree and status of nutrients in soil especially of P and K. Under rainfed conditions, fertilizers are applied before the onset of monsoon. Under irrigated conditions, it should be applied in two splits, one half at the beginning of monsoon and the remaining half in the post-monsoon period (September- October). Micronutrients In case of Zn and Fe deficiency, organic manures, ZnSO4 and FeSO4 (0.5%) are applied. Irrigation Irrigation is provided at an interval of 30 days in winter and 15 days in summer. Drip Irrigation This system has been found to be beneficial in saving 40% water with 70-75 % higher income. This system is laid out with 2 drippers spaced 50 cm. from tree at an initial stage during the first two years and then 4 drippers about 1 m. away from the tree till it attains five years of age. Intercultural Operations The problem of weeds is common in young orchards. Application of 2 kg. bromacil and 2 kg. diuron/ha. as pre-emergence spray is effective in controlling weeds for a period of 10-12 months. Inter-cropping Inter-cropping with banana, papaya, pineapple and cocoa; french bean, peas, tomato, brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, cucurbits is recommended depending upon the climate and irrigation facilities available. Growth regulators Fruit drop is a very serious problem in sapota. Spraying with GA3 @ 50-100 ppm. at the time of flowering is quite effective for getting better fruit set and also preventing fruit drop. Harvesting and Yield Sapota takes about 7-101/2 months from anthesis to maturity of fruits depending on variety and climate. Fruits follow double sigmoid pattern of growth. Properly developed fruits have high TSS and sugar, and reduced acidity, astringency, latex and vitamin C. Maturity is decided on the basis of ease with which brown scruff gets off the fruit surface and development of yellowish tinge intermixed wit corky brown color on the surface of the fruit. At this stage, practically no green tissue and milky latex are seen on fruits when scratched with nails. The fruits are hand picked or harvested with special harvester which has a round ring with a net bag fixed onto a long bamboo. Depending on management level, 15-20 tons fruits are harvested from a hectare. Post-harvest management Since sapota is a climacteric fruit, it has to be ripening artificially. Fruits are highly perishable and they undergo rapid ripening changes within 5-7days during which the fruits become soft, sweet and develop excellent aroma with decline in tannins, latex sapotin, aldehydes and acidity. These changes are associated with increase in production of ethylene, rate of respiration, catalase, peroxidase and PME activities. These changes can be regulated through chemicals, temperature and storage gas composition. Harvested fruits should be cleaned of latex and scurf by washing in clean water to make them look attractive. Such fruits should be graded into big, medium and small sizes. Fruits should be tightly packed in cardboard boxes of 10 kg capacity with rice straw as padding material and with ethylene absorbents and transported quickly to wholesale markets. For extending shelf life and to avoid storage rots, fruits can be dipped in GA300 ppm + bavistin 1,000ppm solution at pre-packing stage. For uniform and rapid ripening ethephon (1,000ppm) can be utilized at 20`-25`C. Modified storage with 5-10 % (c/c) CO2 can be employed for long storage (21-25days). Refrigerated vans (12-23`C) should be utilized for long distance and export markets. Physiological disorders Wilt or die back is common where sapota cultivation is being extended to traditionally rice growing regions. Due to anaerobic conditions in monsoon and post monsoon season in such areas wilt is