Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
cloudy weather at the time of flowering from November to February re-
sults in poor fruit setting and favors pest and disease incidence (Bose, et
al. 1999). At Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow, low
temperature (4-11.5°C) in January, 2003 accompanied by high humidity
(78%) and cloudy weather delayed panicle emergence. Winds may cause
great damage to crop by way of fruit shedding, breakage of limbs or even
uprooting of the entire plant from winds of high velocity. In places of
frequent hail storms, mango cultivation is not feasible (Bhriguvanshi et al
2010). Maximum fruit setting is observed on panicles, which emerge first.
Although some fruits set on panicle emerged subsequently but they are
dropped due to sudden increase in temperature (9-33°C) and high wind
velocity after Holi in March. The characteristic 'Jhumka,' that is, embryo
abortion with aborted embryos is noticed in and around Lucknow, Mali-
habad and Kakori areas of UP causing around 30% losses.
Dashehari, a popular mango variety of Uttar Pradesh produces 40-50
days early crop when grown in Andhra Pradesh. This attribute is gainfully
used for early marketing of this variety. Mangoes from coastal Maharash-
tra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are earliest to come in the market
while late crop is produced in north-western India. Kanyakumari and some
places in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu produce two crops of mango in
a year. In the regions experiencing severe winter, mango malformation is
a common problem (Sankaran et al., 2008). Alphonso, a popular variety
from Konkan region is of export quality and it produces a physiological
disorder called 'spongy tissue' when the soil temperature is high. In the
coastal humid regions production of mango grafts through epicotyl graft-
ing is highly successful because of high humidity.
3.5.2 CITRUS
The optimum temperature for citrus growth is 16-20°C. Citrus plants grow
well in tropical and subtropical climates, with very high temperatures be-
ing detrimental. At least 700 mm of well-distributed rainfall is necessary.
It has been observed that fruits grown in moist climate tend to have thinner
peel and more juice than those grown in drier climate. Best quality fruits
grow in semiarid, subtropical regions with supplemental irrigation. The
fruit acquires a good color with warm days and cool nights even while
growing on trees compared to humid tropics where even ripe fruits
