CAU Prof gives tips for successful fruit growing venture
Source: The Sangai Express / Konsam Samita

Imphal, June 27 2021: Sharing expert tips for sustainable and successful fruit growing venture in Manipur, Dr RK Dilip Singh Professor, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture (CAU) said that establishment of an orchard is a long-term venture which requires heavy investment in the initial stage.

For successful and sustainable fruit growing either in the way of entrepreneurship or enterprise requires a well-thought plan, he said and added that any mistake committed in the beginning will be very difficult to correct later in the orchard life.

What Dr Dilip says
Success of fruit growing for income generation and employment requires basic principles based on varied factors.

Selection of site: An important principle for success in fruit growing is selection of a proper site.

The site will decide the failure or success of the orchard.

Sites consist of the topography of the land, slope of the site, soil depth, source of water, availability of labourers, accessibility.

Transport and communication network: The site for growing fruits should be easily accessible in terms of transport of farm-related commodities/materials and at the same time disposal of farm produce as and when required.

The suitability of the fruit crops to the site is also very important.

CAU Prof gives tips for successful fruit growing venture

Fruit crops differ in their requirements for eco-physiology.

For example fruit crops can be put into three broad groups based on the climatic requirement such as a) Temperate fruit crops b) Sub-tropical and c) Tropical and dry land fruit crops.

Temperate fruit crops will grow well in areas located 1,000 m above sea level.

Fruit crops falling in this category are Kiwi, Apple, Peach, Pear, Plum, Walnut, Almond, Cherry, Apricot, Strawberry etc.

Important subtropical fruit crops include Mango, Citrus, Grapes, Guava, Litchi, Pomegranate, Jamun, Loquat, Passion fruit, etc while some important tropical and dry land fruit crops are Banana, Papaya, Pineapple, Sapota, Cashewnut, Custard Apple, Dragon Fruit, Avocado, Amla, Ber, Bael Pomegranate, Jackfruit etc.

Dr Dilip stated that some of the tropical fruit crops will come up well in sub-tropical conditions and similarly some of the sub-tropical fruit crops will come up well in subtropical conditions.

Saying that all the three types of climatic zones are there in Manipur, he added that temperate fruit crops can be successfully cultivated in areas like parts of Ukhrul, Senapati, Tengnoupal, Tamenglong whereas sub-tropical and tropical fruit crops can be grown in the valley and foothills of different hill districts.

The other important principle for successful fruit growing include layout of orchard, planting system or design (triangular system), growing fruit crops in the hills on contour lines and maintenance of proper plant population, selection of upland areas in the valley, he said and added that these important points are being ignored by the growers many a time.

Continuing that proper pit preparation is also imperative, Dr Dilip maintained that pits should be as far as possible (90 cm) and should be prepared well in advance at least 3-4 weeks ahead of planting.

Apart from the conventional fruit growing practice, specifically in urban areas, fruit growing can be done on a rooftop or a terrace, given the climatic requirements of the fruit crops are fulfilled, Dr Dilip said.

Dr Dilip apprised that the institute has reached out to some progressive farmers for the multiplication of fruit plants like grapes and grafting of citrus.

Some of them have already started earning money by adopting techniques disseminated by the institute, he said and maintained that one such successful progressive farmer is Longjam Tombi Singh of Imphal West and Amujao of Sanjenlok village of Imphal East.

"Hence, for sustainable and successful fruit growing, adoption of the basic principles of fruit growing discussed here is important and all interested fruit growers are requested to do the same," he concluded.

(This article is written under the Media Fellowship Program in Scientific Journalism of the Public Relations and Media Management Cell, CAU Imphal.

Dr Indira Thounaojam, Information & Publicity Officer, PRMM Cell can be contacted at [email protected] to know more about this article and related information) .