Major fruit crops
Mango (Mangifera indica, Anacardiaceae)
"King of fruits"; tropical and subtropical. Propagated by veneer or softwood grafting. Varieties include Dashehari, Langra, Alphonso, and hybrids such as Amrapali (dwarf, regular bearing). Problems: alternate (biennial) bearing, mango malformation, black tip (caused by fumes from brick kilns, controlled with borax sprays), mango hopper, powdery mildew, and spongy tissue in Alphonso.
Papaya (Carica papaya, Caricaceae)
Fast-growing, fruits within a year; propagated by seed. Plants may be male, female or hermaphrodite; gynodioecious varieties like Pusa Delicious and Coorg Honey Dew have female and bisexual plants. Papain, a protein-digesting enzyme, comes from its latex. Main disease: papaya ring spot virus, spread by aphids.
Banana (Musa spp., Musaceae)
Propagated by sword suckers or tissue-culture plants. Needs warm humid climate and heavy manuring and irrigation. Varieties: Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Poovan. Problems: Panama wilt (Fusarium), bunchy top virus, Sigatoka leaf spot. Fruits are parthenocarpic (seedless).
Guava (Psidium guajava, Myrtaceae)
Hardy, rich in vitamin C and pectin. Varieties: Allahabad Safeda, Lucknow-49 (Sardar). Propagated by air layering, stooling or budding. Crop regulation (bahar treatment) is done to obtain the winter crop, which is of better quality. Wilt is a serious disease.
Citrus (Rutaceae)
Includes mandarin (Nagpur), sweet orange (Mosambi), acid lime and lemon. Propagated by T-budding on rootstocks such as rough lemon; acid lime also by seed. Problems: citrus decline, canker, greening.
Grapes (Vitis vinifera, Vitaceae)
Propagated by hardwood cuttings; trained on bower, kniffin or head systems; pruned twice a year in peninsular India. Thompson Seedless is a major variety. Gibberellic acid is used to enlarge berries. Downy and powdery mildew are major diseases.
Key points
- Mango: alternate bearing, malformation, black tip.
- Papaya is seed propagated; papain from latex.
- Banana is propagated by sword suckers.
- Guava: bahar treatment for winter crop.
- Citrus by T-budding; grapes by cuttings.
Common mistakes
- Thinking black tip of mango is a fungal disease; it is a physiological disorder caused by kiln fumes.
- Assuming all banana suckers are equal; sword suckers are preferred to water suckers.