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Mango canopy training and pruning

Mango canopy training and pruning is a set of orchard practices, codified by ICAR-CISH Lucknow and TNAU, that shape the tree architecture during establishment and maintain a productive, well-ventilated canopy through the bearing life of the orchard.

Principle

Mango bears terminally on mature shoots and is prone to alternate bearing and to dense, shaded canopies that lower photosynthetic efficiency, encourage powdery mildew and impede spray penetration. Structured training during the first 3-4 years builds a strong framework, while annual maintenance pruning thereafter renews fruiting wood, manages tree height and admits light.

Implementation

Standard training is as follows:

  • Heading back the main stem at 1-1.5 m above the bud union after establishment.
  • Selection of 3-4 well-spaced primary branches, with 45-60 deg crotch angles, to form an open umbrella.
  • Second-order branch pruning to encourage uniform shoot distribution; CISH trials on Dashehari report pooled yields of around 58 kg/tree over 12 years under this regime.

For mature trees, annual light pruning is timed to the post-harvest period (June-July in north India) to avoid removing differentiated buds. Pruning cuts more than 2 cm in diameter are smeared with Bordeaux paste or copper oxychloride paste to prevent fungal infection.

Adoption context

Canopy management is integral to ultra-high-density mango planting (Mango Orchard Establishment Hdp) where annual hedging keeps trees compact and to flowering management strategies based on KNO3 and paclobutrazol (Mango Flowering Management), which require a defined canopy load. Major commercial cultivars including Alphonso (Mango Alphonso), Banganapalli (Mango Banganapalli Beneshan), Kesar (Mango Kesar), Dasheri (Mango Dasheri), Himayat (Mango Himayat Himam Pasand) and Totapuri (Mango Totapuri) all respond to disciplined pruning.

Limitations

Heavy or untimely pruning can induce vegetative flushes at the expense of flowering and increase fruit fly (Fruit Fly Orchard Pest) and powdery mildew pressure. Pruning intensity is therefore matched to cultivar, age, soil and climate.

See also: Mango Orchard Establishment Hdp, Mango Flowering Management, Mango Value Addition Rolls Thandra.

References

  1. Canopy Management in Mango. TNAU Agritech Portal.
  2. Mango Orchards: Canopy Management. Indian Horticulture, ICAR.