Gumossis in Mango

With the onset of South west monsoon in July, we experienced a high incidence of Gumossis in well established mango trunks. 

This is a fungal disease and the symptom is that the affected tree starts secretion of gum at a particular point, it spreads throughout the body within three to six months and then the tree dies.
Fortunately, we caught the disease in time and applied Copper Oxy chloride – 10g/L. The affected area needs to be cleaned with a sharp object (like a metallic plate) after which the solution should be painted in and around the affected area. 

Do let us know if anybody experienced any seasonal diseases and how did they overcome it. 

Gumossis

COC being applied



 

Efficacy of Shadenet to control Algae

Some of you had mailed me regarding the efficacy of the Shadenet over SST. Algae formation was a major problem we were experiencing in our tank, especially during the peak of summer. The situation became quite critical last year - Pictures before shadenet

Using some local ingenuity, we started working towards a potential solution that could at least control the problem, if not eliminate it - Shadenet over SST

It has been about 5 months and we are happy to note that we have not had the need to clean the tank yet. Algae build up has started in the last few weeks but is greatly reduced. Earlier, we had to clean the tank almost every 4-6 weeks during the hot months.

In conclusion, Shadenet was indeed useful in mitigating algae to a large extent. Only one word of caution - with 1600 sq ft of Shadenet material resting on metal wires, it does get quite heavy (especially after a rain or so). Ensure there is good support on the sides and proper reinforcement is available to avoid falling of metal pillars.

Cowpea as foodder!

Our goat herd has been steadily growing over the last one year. There have been more than 80 births and the kids are growing at a steady rate. Initially, we used concentrate comprising of Maize powder, daal, groundnut cake for accelerated growth. However, often the mix was adulterated with mud, salt etc. The feed was not only inferior in quality but also expensive.

So in the last few months we stopped using concentrate and augmented our fodder acreage. Currently, we give a mix of CO4, sorgum, maize, agathi, subabul (and mango leaves during pruning). The latest addition has been Cowpea. This grows well under rain fed condition.

Interestingly, cowpea has a lot of health advantages ranging from controlling blood pressure to having anti-aging properties. Of course, this does not apply to the goats since we are harvesting leaves and not seeds. You should be careful not feeding leaves that have been infected with leaf eating pests. We noticed that often goats experienced a rather nasty round of dysentery after feeding on infected leaves. 

Info on Pomegranate cultivation

Pomegranate is one fruit that has gained a lot of prominence in the last few years for its nutritional benefits. The fruit is primarily grown in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu has been adding significant acreages in the recent past. There are various varieties that are grown commercially, Bhagwa has been gaining popularity of late.

•  The fruit is moderate in calories; 100 g provides 83 calories. It contains no cholesterol or saturated fats.

•  It is a good source of soluble and insoluble dietary fibers, which aid in smooth digestion and bowel movements. 

•  The fruit is suggested by nutritionists in the diet for weight reduction and cholesterol controlling programs. Regular inclusion of fruits in the diets boosts immunity, improves circulation, and offers protection from cancers.

• The fruit is an also good source of antioxidant vitamin-C, provides about 17% per 100 g of daily requirement. Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents by boosting immunity.

• Regular consumption of pomegranate has also been found to be effective against prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), diabetes, and lymphoma.

• Further, it is an also good source of many vital B-complex groups of vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), folates, pyridoxine and vitamin K, and minerals like calcium, copper, potassium, and manganese.

Pomegranate grows well under semi-arid conditions and can be grown upto an altitude of 500 m. above m.s.l.. It thrives well under hot, dry summer and cold winter provided irrigation facilities are available. The tree requires hot and dry climate during fruit development and ripening. Pomegranate tree is deciduous in areas of low winter temperature and an evergreen or partially deciduous in tropical and sub-tropical conditions. It can tolerate frost to a considerable extent in dormant stage, but is injured at temperature below - 11⁰ C. Well drained, sandy loan to deep loamy or alluvial soils is suitable for cultivation.

Back in September, I visited one farm near Pune that was known for its pomegranate production. The farm was a couple of acres big with about 400 trees. Trees were around 12-13 years old and yielded profusely. According to the farmer, on an average he attained 70-80 Kgs per tree. Frequent sprays of All 19 were required to keep the fruits healthy. The fruit is fairly labor intensive with regards to pruning, stkaing and general maintaince. However, the rewards are healthy too with farm gate sales of Rs 70-80 per Kg.

Promegrante is susceptible to various diseases.

Alternaria fruit spot:

Symptoms:

• Small reddish brown circular spots appear on the fruits.
• As the disease advances these spots, coalesce to form larger patches and the fruits start rotting.

Spraying Mancozeb (0.25%) or Captaf (0.25%) effectively controls the disease.

Anthracnose:

Symptoms:

• Appears as small regular or irregular dull violet or black leaf spots with yellowish halos.
• Leaves turn yellow and fall out. Symptoms appear on flowers also.
• Both tender and mature fruits develop spots which are initially circular later becoming irregular, brown to dark brown covering the fruit partly or wholly with sunken centres.
• Diseased portions appear with minute, black dots representing acervuli.

The disease is severe during August-September when there is high humidity and the temperature between 20-27ºC. Carbendazim/ Difenconazole or Thiophanate methyl at 0.25ml/lit sprays at fort-nightly intervals have been found effective.

Bacterial blight:

Symptoms:

• Appearance of one to several small water soaked, dark coloured irregular spots on leaves resulting in premature defoliation under severe cases.
• The pathogen also infects stem and branches causing girdling and cracking symptoms.
• Spots on fruits were dark brown irregular slightly raised with oily appearance, which split open with L-shaped cracks under severe cases.

The disease can be managed by 1% Bordeaux mixture before pruing. After Ethrel  spraying or defoliation, Paste or smear with 0.5g Streptomycin Sulphate + 2.5g Copper oxy chloride  + 200g red oxide per lit of water. Spray 0.5 g Streptomycin Sulphate or Bacterinashak +2.5 g Copper oxy chloride per litre of water.

Happy New Year and Happy Harvesting !

Here is wishing all our blog followers a happy new year. May the new year brings peace, happiness, and prosperity to your lives. With Pongal around the corner, it should be a great season with a bountiful harvest for those doing rain fed agriculture. 

Monsoons were fairly good this year. Rains were not heavy, however they were regular which worked very well. Often with heavy rains, a lot of water is drained out and wasted. Short but regular showers ensures that the water percolates deep into the soil. As a result, we stopped irrigation from September onwards. Our EB bill dipped by 95% from the previous months, many of the bores had minimum readings.

January has not been very warm so far, with the mercury rising gradually. However, it will take another month before we start feeling the heat. 

The biggest challenge post monsoons has been taming the weeds. However, with the timely intervention of rotavator, we have had good success keeping the growth under control. Mango plots are looking good. 

Flowering has kicked in as well. First flowering was noticed in the second week of December. We hope to see flowers turn into fruits in the coming months.

Our little kitchen garden in the shadenet has been churning out veggies consistently as well. Bottle gourd, bitter gourd, tomatoes, snake gourds, cluster beans and okra have been plenty this year. 

We have about 250 odd trees of Amla that were already planted when we started this back in 2011. It was great to see them fruit for the first time as well. It will take another month or so before they are ready for harvest. 

Coming months should be busy for us with the harvesting and our marketing initiative. Stay tuned for updates!