Water balance technique to optimize the plant population of mango in dry land horticulture.
Rajegowda M. B., Muralidhara K. S., Ravindrababu B. T., Prasanna H. L. G., Nagaraj A. P.
Author Affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 065, India.
Journal of Agrometeorology 5 : 93-96
Abstract : The eastern dry zone of Karnataka, India where normal annual rainfall is 868 mm and annual potential evapotranspiration (PET) is 1181 mm favours the establishment of the perennial horticultural crops. Using the crop coefficient, PET and the geometry of the fully matured trees, the plant population that could be accommodated per hectare area under rainfed horticulture with minimum period of stress during the year was fixed using the FAO water balance model. Under the existing rainfall scenario, about 44 mango trees/ha area could be accommodated with 15×15 m spacing that have the highest spread of 6 m radius from the main trunk, so that the life span of the tree is not effected by moisture stress.