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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Anthracnose and Ash Weevil in Mango

While we gear up to plant another 6 acres of Mango UHD tomorrow, mango saplings from last year turn 1 this week. We have also planted another 20 acres of Melia Dubia  (15x15 ft) this past week. Weather conditions have been almost perfect with rains occurring every 3-4 days and reliance on TNEB has been minimal fortunately. We have been experiencing 15-20 hour power cuts for the last few days and you know for certain that it is a power issue when the inverter starts packing up..

Mango saplings from last year have progressed well, especially the Imampasand UHD plot. Alphonsos UHD plot is coming a near second while alphonsos at 5x5m have some catching up to do. Relatively, we have had more mortality in this plot and one of the causes for the mortaility has been due to setting in of Anthracnose.

Anthracnose is a fungal disease that affects stems and branches and results in blackening of tissue. A spray of Bavistin (2g/L) would be a proactive step to reduce the occurrence. However, if the infection sets in, then the stem should be pruned and sprayed (and burn the cut stem, away from the plot)

Following are some pictures of Anthracnose -

















An affected primary branch. If you look closely, a couple of ash weevils can be spotted (bluish-greenish in color). These flies aggravate anthracnose as well. Spray Curacron 1ml/L, followed by Chloropyriphos 1.5ml/L after 15 days.
They are quite destructive on young leaves and will munch away in days..

Problem seems to be under control for now..



A pruned stem of an affected plant















Ash weevil - Could not get a more focussed picture with my cell phone camera, but you get the idea..















Following is a link that elaborates on the management of Anthracnose in Mango click here

Both anthracnose and Ash weevil are common but serious issues in mango and proactive measures should be taken to curb the losses. Do let us know if any of you experienced the same and what measures were taken..

5 comments:

  1. Dear Kaustubh,
    I have been following your blogs for a while now.You are doing a amazing job.My hearty wishes for you.
    Your success is very important for the future agro entrepreneurs to get inspirations.

    We are also planning for mango plantation in our 25 acre land near dharmapuri.
    Can you please provide some information about how to choose the sapplings ?
    I heard from Jain that only soft wood grafting is ideal for UHD.But we get only approach graft in santur(Krishnagiri) which is already 5/6 feet.
    Please help.
    Regards
    Chandramohan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Chandramohan,
      Thanks for your appreciation. From what I have heard and read -
      1. The stem should be about pencil size in girth..
      2. Make sure the union of scion and rootstock is firmly fused
      Stem should be healthy and green
      3. Size of the saplings should be ideally 1.5 to 2.5 ft..Longer plants are susceptible to root coiling.
      4. Age ideally should be around 8-12 months

      Soft wood is preferred for UHD cultivation. You can get softwood in pvt nurseries in southern TN..

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  2. Hi Kaustubh,
    Thanks for providing your contacts.
    Still I am in search of reliable and quality suppliers nearby.
    I gonna use the 4 check list items which you have mentioned above to find the saplings.
    Regards
    mohan



    ReplyDelete
  3. We are also facing the same issue in our small mango farm. The plants with young leaves and plats which were flowering are affected.

    I had sprayed organic pesticide but that doesn't seem to have any effect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prasad,
      I have not tried an organic spray yet on mango but curacron was effective in curbing ash weevils. Pls look up the post for the dosages.

      Delete