Proper establishment of the mango orchard

Mango farmers can produce planting material on-farm by raising their own rootstocks and grafting them with the preferred cultivars. Rootstocks should be raised from seeds selected from healthy looking and very ripe fruit, preferably fruit that are ready to fall off the mother tree. Such fruit should be picked from a known mango tree variety that is hardy and well adapted to local conditions. The fresh mangoes should be peeled and all the flesh removed from the seed and the seeds spread in a dry, clean place under shade to harden for about one week. Mango seeds quickly lose their viability so they should not be kept for a long time.

For the nursery, polyethylene bags (PE-bags) with a diameter of 15 cm and a height of 30 to 40 cm are used. A mixture of 50 % ripe compost and 50 % of soil with a high humus content is filled into these bags. The seeds should be slit on one side to help the embryo germinate quickly through the endocarp (hard part of the seed). Seeds are then placed on their sides, with the most prominently curved edge upwards, so that they produce a straight stem. The seeds should then be completely covered with soil and the bags aligned under a shaded area (e.g. shaded roof, palm leaves). The soil in the bags should be kept moist.

 When the seedlings (root stocks) are about 50 cm in height and 8 to 10 mm in diameter, they are ready to be grafted. Some varieties produce two shoots, whereby both can be grafted or one cut off. Varieties with strong foliage development, the desired fruit type and a good flower formation and fruit production history should be selected to provide scions. Length of the scions should be about 10 cm (with at least 3 buds, same size as the root stock). The scions should then be harvested and collected into a re-sealable plastic bag while removing all the fully formed leaves from the scions. A diagonal side-wedge is made of the scion in such a way that it just fits the diagonal side-wedge made on the rootstock stem, and then bound together firmly with a polythene wrap or rubber band in an upright position.

The grafted seedlings should be covered under a transparent polyethylene sheet to encourage quick sprouting of the scion. As soon as the buds of the scion start sprouting, then the sheet should be slowly removed and the seedlings left to grow in a shaded area. Appropriate watering of the seedlings and monitoring for any pest or disease attack is necessary.

After grafting, the seedlings are grown for 4 weeks in the nursery before they are transplanted to the field. At this point, the scions should have produced a second flush of leaves.

The plant hole should be made at least 40 x 40 cm and 50 cm deep, topsoil put aside and later mixed with good compost to fill the plant hole after planting the seedling. The PE-bag should be removed before planting and the joined part of the seedling not covered under the soil. Light mulch (about 10 cm) may be applied, but not too close to the seedling stem in order to avoid attracting fungus and insects. Continuous watering is needed for proper establishment.

The method of planting (orchard design) is dependent on the field lay out. When mango is the main fruit in the orchard, a 10 m by 10 m planting distance is desirable.

Since mango trees grow slowly, they can take a relatively long period (up to 5 years) before the trees cover the space in-between. During this period, there are several possibilities to use the available space as cropping area through proper diversification. Diversification in mango production offers the following advantages:

• better use of underground and aerial space
• the yield risk due to alternate bearing can be compensated with the harvest of the companion crop, hence stable income to the farmer
• protects the soil from erosion
• improves the soil fertility, for example, when legumes are grown underneath the trees
• intercropping reduces the pest and disease pressure due to possible higher populations of beneficial organisms
• better weed management and provides space for pasture production for livestock.

Mango trees can be grown together with many other plants: as border trees on cultivated gardens, in intercropping within the gardens, in very diverse agroforestry systems or in silvi-pastoral systems (using small animals, such as sheep or goats).

a. Intercropping in mango plantations

If the area between the organic mango trees is to be used as arable land, an adequate crop rotation should be planned. During the young developing stages of the mango trees, a crop rotation with annual crops such as legume crops, vegetables, cereals and fodder crops can be grown in this case. If the local climatic and soil conditions are suitable, other fruit crops such as papaya (3 to 5 years cropping period) and pineapples (2 to 3 years) can be included in the intercropping system.

Other possibilities to enhance the diversification in mango orchards include leaving some spontaneous plant growths (bushes, flowers, etc.) on the borders or between the trees to create ecological niches.

b. Mango in border areas of cultivated fields

Mango trees as border trees can improve diversification on the farm, it can protect the soil and other crops against wind and it can enhance the income of the farmer.

c. Mango in agroforestry or silvi-pastoral systems

Mango trees in agroforestry systems can include crops such as bananas, papayas, cocoa, etc. In silvi-pastoral systems, animals can be allowed to graze on pasture growing on the mango plantation. Windbreak trees are needed because mango trees are very susceptible to wind damage. Therefore, some trees are needed to protect from strong winds on the side of the prevailing winds.