AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

FRUITS

The following table gives talukawise distribution of acreage underfruits (fresh and dry) in Ratnagiri District in 1955-1956:-

TABLE No. 21.

AREA (TALUKAWISE) UNDER FRUITS (FRESH AND DRY) IN RATNAGIRI DISTRICT, 1955-56.

(In acres).

Amba.

Mango (amba) is one of the most important crops of this district and occupied about 60 per cent. of the total area under fruits. In fact, in 1955-56, it stood next to Surat district in mango gardening. Hill-slopes near the coast where drainage is assured and climatic conditions are ideal, present most suitable site for mango cultivation. It is taken as a garden crop and varieties grown are mostly grafted ones; country or raival varieties are sparingly taken. The grafts are generally obtained from nurseries. Cultivation practices of mango are different in different tracts. On katals (bare rocks) mangoes have to be well taken care of in the early stage. Earthing has to be done regularly to give support and also to provide sufficient ground for the feeding roots to grow and develop. After three years when roots have penetrated deep, watering is not required though thereafter manures are added to help their vigorous growth. On the wind-ward sides (i.e. the southern and the western sides) a small semi-circular stone wall (gadaga) is constructed to avoid uprooting of the trees by strong winds. This protection is very necessary as the roots of trees on katals do not go deep but spread all over. It also facilitates manuring. The trees on katals are dwarf and bushy, but this facilitates plucking of fruits and better care of inflorescence. The yield, is however, moderate. On better soils, the plant branches profusely and bears fruit abundantly. On low-lying lands the plants grow very high.

Planting of mango is done usually during April-May or August-October. Except on katals, planting is generally not done during heavy rains in June and July, because on low-lying lands water remains stagnant which the mango plants cannot tolerate. Summer planting (in April-may) is done only if water for irrigation is available in sufficient quantities. Pits of size 3' X 3' X 3' are prepared and filled up with good soil which is mixed with farm yard manure and compost. At the base of the pit is spread a layer of raw bones. At the time of planting, the grafts are so planted that the position of the roots as it was in the pits is maintained. The joint of the graft is kept slightly above the ground as a safeguard against the white-ant pest. Subsequently, while earthing up, it is covered up as strong winds might damage the tree at this very point. At the time of planting, fish meal or bone meal (which is locally available in sufficient quantities) is used at the rate of 10 to 15 lbs., per plant. The bearing trees are later on annually manured during August-September at the rate of 20 lbs., of bone meal or fish meal. Application of crude salt at the rate of four lbs., per tree is also dons by some cultivators as it is supposed to inhibit vegetative growth and thus encourage fruit bearing. After planting of grafts is over, watering-during winter and summer is done for three years regularly by digging the ground and loosening the soil near the trunk. Manuring is done during monsoon and plants are also earthed up at the same time Mango grafts begin to bear fruit from the fifth year. The grafted varieties are harvested by the end of April, and therefore, unlike the raival ones, do not suffer much damage due to cyclones in May.

Nearly 90 per cent. of the area under mango is under alphonso (apus) which is considered to be the best variety among mangoes and possesses very delicious taste, inviting fragrance, the best keeping quality and is fibreless. The alphonso mango plant does not necessarily bear fruit every year; alternate bearing is more usual. Therefore, with a view to ensuring steady yield year after year periodical planting is done in the gardens, though this is not the surest way of overcoming the periodicity in the yield of mangoes. As the exact causes of the periodicity are not known, sure and standard remedies have not been found so far. Mango flowering takes place generally in three flushes at an interval of one month. The number of trees per acre varies from 50 to 70, depending upon the spacing provided for. On katal where the growth is bushy, the spacing is about 20 to 25 feet while in low-lying soils it varies from 30 to 40 feet between the trees eitherway. Spacing, say up to 30 to 40 feet, depending on the nature of soil, is supposed to be beneficial as the entire crown of the tree is fully exposed to the sun from all sides. This makes available ample sunshine to the maturing fruit, facilitates tillage, helps insecticide operations and reduces the possibility of attack by pests and diseases. On maturity, the oil glands in the skin of the fruit become conspicuous; the fruit becomes turgid and shows depression near the hold of the stalk. Picking of matured fruit starts from February onwards on Vengurla side where flowering starts in November. At Ratnagiri and in the northern area, as fruit bearing is a little late, picking is done during April and May. The yield of alphonso mangoes varies from 400 to 500 fruit per tree. Some trees yield fruit even up to 2,000. An average fruit of alphonso weighs six to eight ounces.

After picking is over, the fruit is exposed to air for a day and then packed in wooden boxes (20" X 12" X 12") having slits in between the planks for aeration. They are then transported to Bombay and other upghat markets. For local consumption the fruit is ripened by covering it in layers of paddy straw. When the fruit begins to change colour, it is taken out and brought to market for sale. Local consumption is of the order of 20 per cent. alphonso, 60 to 70 per cent. raival and varieties like payari. Most of the raival produce is locally consumed for preparing pickles, muramba (jam), amboshi (dehydrated slices of pulp), etc. The juice of ripe mangoes is either consumed as it is or is made into ambapoli or boiled into mava.

Kele.

Banana (kele) is grown on a small scale. Planting is done during July and August. A pit of size 2' X 2' X2' is dug and filled up with compost or farm yard manure, ash and soil. Fish manure is applied at the rate of about four lbs. Basrai variety begins to flower after six to eight months and takes four more months for ripening. The land is well suited to the cultivation of this variety and its production can be increased considerably if market and adequate watering facilities are available. Other varieties grown are rajeli, rasbeli, kanher, sahasraphal, mendal, velchi and lalkel. They begin to flower in eight to ten months' time (sometimes even twelve months). The flower spike (kel-ful) and unripe fruit are used as vegetable. Leaves of banana plant are used for serving meals. They are also used for bidi making. Its stem fibre, known as sopat, is used for securing grafts.

Kaju.

Cashew-nut (Kaju) stands next in importance to mango and occupies nearly one-third of the total area under fruits. Vengurla, Sawantwadi, Malvan and Kudal talukas having a coastal climate, the red laterites and an abundant rainfall averaging 125 inches a year, provide ideal conditions for its growth. It is generally propagated by means of seeds; only recently it has come to be successfully propagated by asexual (vegetative) methods. With the beginning of the monsoon, two or three seeds are directly sown in pits which are about 12' to 15' apart, though the required distance is about 20'. The unwanted seedlings are removed. Sometimes, seedlings are also prepared and then planted at the beginning of the monsoon or just after the heavy showers (i.e. in August). The plants are generally planted around the field or on the borders or on slopy soils; but very few cultivators have planted cashew-nut in a systematic manner. The cashew plant does not require much attention once the seedlings get established. The tree starts bearing fruit in the fifth year after planting and thereafter it bears regularly. However, it begins to bear fully from the seventh year onwards. The trees begin to flower in December-January and continue to do so till March; and the fruit gets ready during February-April.

The major operations in cashew-nut cultivation are planting, watching and harvesting. The cost of planting and raising the seedlings in its initial stages, comes to Rs. 60 to Rs. 70 per acre; harvesting and watching costs Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 per acre every year. The cashew-fruit consists of the cashew apple and the cashew-nut. The fruit when ripe is plucked for eating or for sale and the nut dried in the sun and stored. Sometimes the nuts in green condition are decorticated and sold in the local market.

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