Introduction The Mango is the choicest fruit of most of the people in India and; fruit contains 0.6% protein, carbohydrates (11.8%), minerals like calcium, phosphorus & iron (0.3%) and rich source of vitamin A (4800 units) B1 & B2 90mg and vitamin C 13 mg per 100g of pulp. The fruit is consumed at all its developmental stages. Climate and Soil Mango can be grown in a wide variety of soils provided the soil is deep without any hard pan or compact Kankar in atleast top 6 feet soil. The electrical conductivity of the soil should be less than 1.0 mmhos. whereas calcium carbonate and lime concretion should be less than 10 and 20 per cent, respectively. Soil should have a pH less than 8.5 upto the depth of 60 cm and the water table should be below 3 metres. Mango is essentially a tropical crop and the ideal temperature for mango cultivation is 24–27oC during the growing season alongwith high humidity. Young trees and actively growing shoots get killed at temperature falling below –1oC and small developing fruits are damaged if the temperature suddenly falls below 4.5oC. Rainfall during flowering adversely affects final fruit set. Winds may also cause great damage to the crop by way of fruit drop, breakage of limbs or even uprooting of the plants. High velocity winds also affect the process of pollination. Hot summer wind (loo) damages the fruit by causing severe fruit drop. Recommended Cultivars Alphonso (2000)Fruit matures in the first week of July. Fruit medium in size, oval with prominent ventral shoulder, fruit colour greenish light yellow with light pinkish blush towards the proximal end, skin thin and smooth, flesh cadmium yellow and firm, fibreless, superb taste, captivating flavour, juice abundant, TSS 17.5%, acidity 0.35% and stone is small. Average fruit yield is 70 kg per tree. Dusehri (1967)Fruits mature in the first week of July. Fruits are small to medium, skin medium-thick, smooth and yellow; flesh firm, fibreless, pleasantly sweet, acidity 0.2%, stone small and thin; keeping quality good. Average fruit yield is 150 kg per tree. Langra (1967)Fruit maturity occurs in the second week of July. Fruit medium to large, skin medium thick, smooth, green, flesh fibreless, lemon yellow, fine taste and flavour with TSS 15.7%, acidity 0.3%, stone medium in thickness. Average fruit yield is 100 kg per tree. Sucking MangoesOut of collections made from a survey undertaken in and outside Punjab, the following collections were considered ideal and recommended for cultivation. Gangian Sandhuri (GN-19) (2006)Fruit matures in end of July. Fruit large, ovate oblong, peel thick, tough, Sindhuri blush at shoulders with yellow base, pulp orange in colour, very good taste with pleasant flavour, juice abundant, stone and fibre. Average fruit yield is 83.7 kg per tree. GN1 (1981)Its trees bear regularly and yield a medium crop. Fruits mature in the second week of July. Fruit is medium in size, ovate, basal sinus shallow, beak and apex pointed. Peel smooth, green at maturity, pulp orange colour, juice thin but abundant with TSS 19%, stone small and fibre absent. GN2 (1981)Fruit matures in the third week of July. Fruits medium to large in size, oval-oblong, skin thick, pulp yellow, TSS 25%, stone small and fibrous all over. GN3 (1981)Fruit matures in the second week of July. Fruits medium in size, ovate, peel thick, surface smooth, spinach green with sparce glands. Pulp yellow, juice abudant, TSS 22%, stone medium in size. GN4 (1981)Fruits mature in the third week of July. Fruit extra large, ovate oblong. Peel yellowish green with sparse glands. Juice abundant, slightly thick with 21% TSS, stone large and sparsely fibrous. GN5 (1981)Fruit matures late in the season. Fruit medium in size, ovate, peel thick and smooth. Juice slightly thick, TSS 22%. Stone medium in size, fibre absent. GN6 (1981)Fruit matures in mid July. Fruit large, peel colour yellow with red blush at the basal end. Popularly known as Punjab Beauty. Pulp yellow, juice abundant with pleasant flavour, TSS 17%. Stone medium, oblong and fibrous all over. GN7 (1981)Fruit maturity occurs in the middle of July. Fruit medium in size, peel smooth with numerous glands, pulp orange in colour, juice plenty and tasty, stone large in size and fibrous all over the stone. Propagation Rootstock Raising Stones of selected healthy seedling mango trees are sown in August. Germination takes place in 2-3 weeks depending upon the medium. These seedlings alongwith stones are transplanted to the nursery beds when their leaves are still brown in colour and expanded to one fourth of their normal size. During transplanting their tap roots be pruned suitably retaining most of the fibrous roots. The seed beds are regularly watered so that no transplanted stone dies till properly established. The seedlings need to be protected from frost during the cold months. Seedlings resume growth in the end of February or the beginning of March and become graftable from March onwards. Grafting For grafting select healthy scion shoots with plump, terminal buds from the last mature flush. Reject scion shoots with swollen, protruded auxillary buds as they are known to produce malformed plants. Remove the leaf blades from the selected scion shoots leaving the petioles intact. In about 7-10 days the petioles drop and the terminal buds become swollen and ready for grafting. One horizontal cut (1.25 cm) and two vertical cuts (4.0 cm each) are made on the stock at a height of about 15 cm from the ground and the bark of the demarcated portion is lifted away from the rootstock. An appropriate slanting cut is also made on the base of the scion stick to expose cambium. The length of the scion stick should not be more than 7.5 cm otherwise considerable breakage of the grafted plants in the nursery occurs. The prepared scion stick is inserted under the bark flap of the rootstock. The bark flap of the rootstock is restored in its position and the graft joint is tied securely with a polythene strip of 150-200 gauge thickness. After the completion of grafting a part of the top of rootstock is lopped to encourage growth of the scion. In Punjab, July to September is the best time for mango propagation. Wedge Grafting Mango can also be propagated through wedge grafting from end-July to end-August on rootstocks on the same or higher thickness than scion stick under open field and protected conditions. Select 3 to 4 months old healthy scion sticks and defoliated it nearly 7-10 days prior to grafting. Rootstock should be cut off just above the active growing point by retaining 3-4 leaves and make a 3-4 cm deep cut on the top of the rootstock. Prepare wedge shape cut on the bottom of scion stick, so that it can fit properly in the cut made on the rootstock. Insert scion stick into the cut portion of the rootstock and wrap the graft union firmly with plastic strip. Remove the new sprouts emerging below the graft union, regularly. Planting Mango being an evergreen fruit plant can be planted during February-March and August-September in the pits (1×1×1 m) prepared about a month earlier. The best planting time is August-September when the weather relatively cools down. The planting is done at 9×9 metre distance for the grafted varieties and 10×10 metres for the sucking type mangoes in the square system. However, planting can also be done according to Hexagonal system as this system accommodates 15 per cent more plants per unit area. Training and Pruning Mango hardly needs any training or pruning. Normally, a young graft is allowed to grow unhampered for 3-4 years. The main scaffold branches should be selected on the grafted plants in such a way that these are spaced 20-25 cm apart on the main stem. No further training is required for giving a proper shape to the plant. Branches crossing in the centre should be removed and there should be no branch too close to the ground. Rejuvenation of Senile Mango Trees After attaining the age of about 30 years, mango trees produce less fruits of inferior quality. The production potential of such trees can be revived by rejuvenation. Trees should be headed back at the height of 2 m from the crotch angle (approximately at 3.0 m from the ground level) in first week of January by retaining about four to five outward growing branches and rest should be thinned out. Apply Bordeaux paste on the cut ends and exposed branches should be white washed. The new shoots will emerge around the headed limbs. In June, retain 3-4 healthy outward growing shoots oriented at the proper distance on each stub. Trees will start bearing fruits after three years of rejuvenation. Manures and Fertilizers The following fertilizer schedule is recommended for ‘off’ year. For mango trees aged 1–3 years, 5–20 kg FYM, 100–200 g urea, 250–500 g superphosphate and 175–350 g muriate of potash should be applied per tree. For trees aged 4–6 years, 25–50 kg FYM, 200–400 g urea, 500–750 g superphosphate and 350–700 g muriate of potash are recommended. Trees of 7–9 years require 60–90 kg FYM, 400–500 g urea, 750–1000 g superphosphate and 700–1000 g muriate of potash per tree. For trees aged 10 years and above, 100 kg FYM, 500 g urea, 1000 g superphosphate and 1000 g muriate of potash should be applied.During the ‘on’ year apply half kg additional urea in June. Apply the whole of FYM and the phosphatic fertilizer in December and N and K in February. It is advisable to use CAN @ 1.00 kg instead of urea, as the use of urea induces soft nose disorder in mango fruits. Irrigation Frequency of irrigation to mango orchards depends upon the type of soil, climatic conditions especially the rainfall and its distribution and the age of the tree. Generally, the young plants with shallow root system require frequent irrigation during the dry period. However, bearing trees usually require irrigation during fruit development period between April to end June at an interval of 10-12 days depending upon the evapotranspiration. One irrigation should be given at the time of addition of fertilizers in the month of February. No irrigation should be given for a period of 2-3 months during October-December. Intercropping/Interplanting Mango tree has a juvenile period of 3-7 years depending upon the variety. Therefore the vacant space between the trees can be profitably utilized by growing intercrops. Intercrops also reduce weed growth and nutrient losses through leaching and surface run off, besides, giving good returns. Vegetables like Onion, Tomato, Radish, Beans, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Leafy vegetables and Leguminous crops like Moong, Mash, Gram and Lentil can be grown. Crops like Maize, Sugarcane and Bajra should not be grown. Papaya, Peach and Plum can be grown as fillers in Mango orchards till the bearing starts. Separate arrangements for manures, fertilizers, irrigation and interculture should be made for the interplants and intercrops. Fruit Drop and its Control A spray of 10 g sodium salt 2,4-D in 500 litres of water in the last week of April or in the first week of May controls the preharvest fruit drop in Dusehri and Langra cultivars. 2,4-D should be dissolved in a small quantity of alcohol or spirit and then the required volume of water be added. It must be ensured that the spray pump is washed thoroughly with washing soda before and after the spray. Do not repeat the spray of the 2,4-D solution. Fruit Maturity and Harvesting Tapka, the natural fall of mature fruit is considered to be the first indication of fruit maturity in Mango. It usually takes 15-16 weeks after fruit set. In case of coloured varieties change in the skin colour is also indicative of the fruit maturity. The maturity of Mango fruit is also indicated when specific gravity is around 1.0. The harvesting should be done individually with the help of a ladder or a bamboo attached sharp knife and a net for collecting the harvested fruits. In no case the fruit should be allowed to drop on the ground as it damages the post-harvest life and cause rotting of the fruit. Fully mature but still hard green fruits should be picked individually with the help of a picker attached at the end of a long bamboo stick. The harvested fruits be sorted and graded for size and maturity before being packed in the boxes. Post-harvest Handling The harvested fruits must be placed on a polynet upside down so that the milky ooz flows out and does not stick to the fruit. The fruit is then washed in warm water at 45-50°C and dried. The fruit is graded according to the size: Grade A : 200-350 g. Grade B : 351-550 g Grade C : 551-800 g and should be waxed with paraffin emulsion or StaFresh. The fruit after this treatment is then cold stored at a temperature of 7-9°C with relative humidity of 85-90% in two to three layers in the cardboard boxes of the size of 45×25×25 cm of five ply for 35-45 days which are used for packing the fruit. The fruits of ‘Alphonso’ harvested in the last week of June or first week of July can be ripened after 4 days by dipping in 600 ppm ethephon (1.5 ml/litre water) solution for 4 minutes and packing in wooden boxes lined and covered with newspaper. The physiological mature fruits of mango cvs Dusehri and Langra packed in CFB boxes with paper lining can be ripened at 25°C in 5 and 4 days after harvesting, respectively. The fruits should be washed in chlorinated water 0.01% (sodium hypochloride 4% @ 2.5 ml/litre) and dried under shade before packing in CFB boxes. PACKAGE OF PRACTICES FOR CULTIVATION OF FRUITS TNAU