Progressive farmers in and around Ulavapadu in Prakasam district mint money by taking to ultra high density planting system (UHDP) to grow the off-season Punasa variety even as the average mango grower in the district rues his fate getting below par price for the Georgraphical Indication-tagged Banganapalli variety.
Under the UHDP, mango is planted at 3×2 m to accommodate 674 plants per acre, which amounts to 150 to 300 saplings against 35 to 60 saplings under the conventional method. Best results are obtained with canopy management.
The progressive ryots have opted for 'Punasa' (Royal Special) variety which yields fruits throughout the year under the UHDP method. They prune the trees at the end of December each year to avoid harvesting the crop during peak summer when the market condition is depressed.
With a good flowering in April, they reap a bumper harvest in August/September when the market price peaks coinciding with the Onam festival in Kerala, the main consumer State, when mangoes are scarce in the market, explains Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project Director Y. Vidyashankar at a farm that uses micro irrigation to grow maximum fruits with less water. “We avoid harvest between March and June when the market is flooded with the king of fruit,” says a progressive farmer Ch.Venkateswarlu from Manetikota village, who has grown Punasa under the UHDP in 40 acres.
“I was able to make a handsome profit of ₹4.50 lakh per acre last year after spending ₹1 lakh per acre on planting material and incurred a recurring expense of ₹50,000 towards pesticides and wages for the garden keeper.
