Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext

In this RLO we will discuss about different cultural practices such as inter crop and cover crop, weed management and practices for managing soil health. Introduction Cultural Practices under INM in Mango Maintenance of good sanitary condition is a must for keeping mango orchard in healthy and disease free. Hence, cultural operations should be carried out in such a way so that they may help to maintain fertility status of soil. That can be done by mulching, growing of green manuring and leguminous crops, timely weed management and intercropping etc. Thus the knowledge of intercultural operations needed for maintaining sanitary conditions and effective management of mango orchard is required. EndPreviousNext

Different cultural practices Intercropping Intercultural operations Weed control Cover crop/Green manure crop Mulching Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext

Vegetable crops such cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, potato, brinjal, cucumber, pumpkin, bitter gourd, tinda, lady’s finger etc. and spices like chilies can be grown as intercrops. Inter cropping Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Intercropping with vegetables in mango orchard Inter crops such as vegetables, legumes, short duration and dwarf fruit crops depending on the agro-climatic factors of the region can be grown. The water and nutrient requirements of the inter crops must be met separately. Leguminous crops like green gram, black gram, gram etc., cereals like wheat, oilseeds like mustard, sesame and groundnut can be grown as intercrops in non bearing orchards.

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. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Inter cropping The partial shade loving crops like pineapple, ginger, turmeric etc. can be cultivated in fully grown orchards.

The area between the basins should be ploughed at least three times in a year i.e. during the pre-monsoon, post-monsoon period and in the last week of November if intercrops are taken. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Intercultural Operations The frequency and the time of inter-culture operations vary with age of the orchards and existence of inter-crops. It is advisable to break the crust around tree trunk with hoeing each time after irrigations.

Diuran at the rate of 9.0 kg/ha can also be used as pre emergence treatment. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Weed control Root zone area of the trees must be kept weed free all the time. Manual cultivation is not recommended as it will disturb active roots. Weed killers with a heavy mulch may be quite effective in controlling weeds. Apply paraquat (3.0 kg a.i./ha) for effective management of weeds.

Care should be taken to avoid direct contact of chemicals with plant tissues. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Application of atrazine at 2.0 kg a.i./ha as pre emergence treatment to soil and one spray of paraquat as post emergence at 3.0 kg a.i./ha six months after soil treatment is effective for controlling both monocot and dicot weeds in mango orchards. Weed control

Cover crops/green manuring crops Besides intercrops, cover crops or green manuring crops like sunnhemp in light soils or dhaincha in heavy soils may also be grown to protect the orchard soil from erosion and also enriching the soil fertility. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext

Mulching is a process of covering the soil around the plant to create more favourable conditions for growth and production. It could be done either with natural organic material or synthetic material like polythene. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Polythene mulching Mulching Growing mango crop on mulch results in partial canopy cover, consequently, the energy balance of both the mulch and the bare soil between rows affect the exchange of energy between the plant and its environment.

Care should be taken to inspect trees regularly for any termite activity after mulching. Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext Rice straw, rice husk, dried weed lopping, saw dust etc. can be used for mulching purposes in mango orchards. Mulching Some materials like fresh coir dust may be harmful as the leachates from these materials may interfere with tree growth.

Advantage of Mulching Improves soil conditions Conserve soil Conserve moisture Optimize soil temperature Soil solarization Weed control Protect plants against diseases/disorders Cultural Practices under INM in Mango EndPreviousNext

Let us sum up EndPreviousNext Similarly growing leguminous crops in space between two rows of mango improve the nitrogen content of soil by fixing of nitrogen in their root nodules and can give some additional income to the orchard owners. Intercropping, weed management, mulching etc are important intercultural operations to reduce nutrients loss and maintain moisture for good crop. As we know that weeds compete for nutrients and moisture with main crop, thus timely management of weeds can reduce the nutrients loss.