Modern orchard management practice to double mango production

MULTAN: The culturally rich region of south Punjab, also known as Kingdom of Mango, is worldwide popular from Europe to Middle Eastern countries for the exotic flavour and aroma of its unique mango production.

A large number of mango trees is visible on a vast landscape almost in every field from Multan to Muzaffargarh and Khanewal to Rahimyar Khan. Mango orchards are located over thousands of acres in the region - Multan is on top in the cultivation of the fruit as it has over 31,000 hectares of land covered with the mango trees.

Similarly, Rahimyar Khan, Muzaffargarh and Khanewal are on second, third and fourth position with cultivation areas 26,000, 19,000 and 14,000 hectares respectively. Among hundreds of varieties of mangoes, only 25 to 30 are being cultivated on commercial scale. The varieties included Chaunsa, Sindhri, Langra, Dausehri, Anwar Ratool, Saroli, Samar Bahisht, Toota Pari, Fajri, Neelum, Alphanso, Almas, Sanwal, Surkha, Sunera and Desi.

Talking to the agency, a well known mango grower, Shahid Hameed Bhutta, said that Pakistan produces about 1.8 million tons of mangoes annually which could further be enhanced by employing different interventions such as modern technology and awareness among the mango growers.

He said, “High cost of inputs, especially fertilizers, pesticides, electricity tariff and climate changes, are the main reasons behind the low production”. The government should ensure easy availability of cheap inputs to the mango growers for maximum production, he added. He said, “The growers are getting 12 tons mangoes/hectare, which could be enhanced to 20 tons by focusing on modern orchard management practices”.

Another mango grower Laique Sheikhan from Nawabpur village stated that majority of the growers are very poor and they cannot afford expenses on proper management of orchards, including application of fertilizers, pruning and suitable inter-cropping combinations.