Ultra High Density Planting system in Mango: Drip-Fertigation to increase the Productivity of Kesar Mango

India is the largest producer of mango in the world but the productivity is very low as compared to other countries. Low productivity is mainly due to low plant population per ha, absence of scientific methods of irrigation, insufficient nutrient management and heavy loss due to pest and disease. Recently drip fertigation, the most important efficient method of fertilizer application, which ensured application of fertilizers directly to the plant root is gaining popularity in entire fruit crop including mango. One step further in this direction is the use of UHDP system which accommodates 670 mango plants per acre (3×2 m) as against 40 mango plants (10×10 m) under traditional method of planting.

Sandip Jijabhau Makhmale is Ph.D Scholar at Department of Horticulture, Junagadh Agricultural university, Junagadh (Gujarat). He is also Research Fellow at Jain Irrigation systems Limited, (JISL) Jalgaon (Maharashtra).