Plant Health Management-Principles

I was wondering that people are using the chemical pesticides indiscriminately that is making our productivity decline. We the researchers are unable to make the farmers aware of the fact that the chemical pesticides are the last one to be used. I shall try to convey the the basic principles of the plant health management.

To keep the plants disease free or healthy its important to follow the principles of the plant disease management:

1. Phytosanitation: Keep the cultivation area free of diseased material like leaves, roots, etc. The cleanliness reduces the primary inoculum of the disease causing agents. This simple principle should be followed as soon as the first symptom appears on the farm. This is the best way to manage the diseases on small farms and helps in reducing the costs.

2. Cultural Practices: Alter the environment in which disease is appearing by using some cultural operations like removing some of diseased portions and altering the drainage of the soil or using some inter-cropping pattern's or using some other crop as barrier crop or trap crop etc. Since this also removes the primary inoculum as well as modifies the environment for disease proliferation again without enhancing the cost to a greater level.

3. Biological Control: Introduction of biological control agents in the soil or directly on the phylloplane (leaf area) helps the plant in fighting with plant pathogen and help the plant to grow healthy with a little cost.

4. Chemical Control: Agrochemicals should be the last priority to manage the disease and that too after the proper diagnosis. As the application of a wrong chemical will not only worsen the situation but also pollute the soil and soil microflora. i.e. soil health. In turn increase the cost without preventing the damage caused by the insect-pests or disease.

One must follow these principles in order to achieve the sustainable production by plants at the same time this brings down the cost of production as well. I shall be discussing these principles in detail in the following posts

Environmental Factors- Contributing Factor towards Low Productivity in Apple

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Old and Senile Orchards - Contributing to low productivity in Apple part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Pest and Diseases

A number of pests and diseases have been found to affect the apple orchards. Besides apple scab, which first appeared in epidemic form during the year 1985-86, the emergence of some new pests and diseases like premature leaf fall and red spider mite, has been one of the most potent reasons for low productivity.

Adequate measures need to be taken to control these serious pests, in order to improve productivity and reduce losses.

Environmental Factors

The changing weather pattern seems to be the most important single factor responsible for the declining productivity of apple crops in the state. The reduction in annual snowfall and prolonged dry spells in the winter have become a regular feature, leading to a wide variation between day and night temperatures. Fluctuating temperatures during flowering period, particularly rains accompanied by low temperature, adversely affects the pollination due to restricted bee activity and retarded pollen tube growth. The occurrence of hail in many areas is a regular feature, and heavy losses are incurred due to these natural calamities thereby contributing to low productivity.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

to be continued with the strategies to over come these bottlenecks..............................

Old and Senile Orchards - Contributing to low productivity in Apple

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Moisture Stress- Contributing Factor to Low Productivity in Apple part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Old and Senile Orchards

The apple is the oldest cultivated fruit in Himachal Pradesh, and many orchards have outlived their economic bearing life. In addition there are many senile and unproductive trees even in the existing orchards, which need replacement. Such old and senile trees also contribute to low productivity of the existing plantations.

The available data also indicate that there are now 2400 ha of apple orchards which have crossed fifty years of the age, thus necessarily need to be replanted during the next ten years.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Moisture Stress- Contributing Factor to Low Productivity in Apple

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Canopy Management - Contributing factor to Low Productivity in Apple part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Moisture Stress

The apple farming in Himachal Pradesh has been developed under rainfed conditions, and serious moisture stress is commonly experienced at critical stages of plant growth and development, particularly between April and June and later on from September to November.
Though rainfall is sufficient, it is not well distributed. Because of steep hilly terrain, the rainwater generally flows down with high velocity resulting in low rate of absorption in the soil. There is a need to adopt technologies for in situ conservation of rainwater, harvesting of rainwater and its utilization during the critical periods through high efficiency irrigation systems.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Canopy Management - Contributing factor to Low Productivity in Apple

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Inadequate Nutrition - Contributing to Low Productivity in Apple part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Poor Canopy Management

The adoption of correct techniques for training and pruning of fruit trees is of vital importance for regulating fruit production. Only a few progressive orchardists are strictly following the scientific principles of pruning apples and are obtaining regular yields every year. It has been observed that in most orchards the training of the young trees is not done correctly, which results in an increased juvenile phase. Similarly the practice of spur thinning in the old trees is lacking. Another severely neglected aspect of pruning apples is the absence of summer pruning.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Inadequate Nutrition - Contributing to Low Productivity in Apple

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Pollination problems part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Inadequate Nutrition

Although the fertilizer recommendations for the apple fruit crops in the state as a whole have been standardized and made available to growers in the package and practices, yet such recommendations are not available on the regional basis. The fertilizer use efficiency is not optimum due to drought during the growth periods, leaching down and runoff of the nutrients during monsoon or unbalanced fertilizer use. The problems of nutrient management are further accentuated in areas where the land is sloping and with poor fertility, resulting in deficient root growth and thereby poor nutrient uptake by plants. Due to non-judicious use of fertilizers in many orchards, micronutrient deficiencies, particularly zinc, boron and manganese, have also been observed and need to be corrected by foliar application of the nutrients. Modern plant tissue analysis technology for the diagnosis of nutrient disorders, though available, has not been widely used.

Nutrient management in orchard is, therefore, required to be scientifically taken care, to overcome the problem of low productivity.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Pollination problems

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Management Practices part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Pollination Problems

Lack of Pollinizers: The low proportion of pollinizing varieties and non-synchronization of their flowering with the main Delicious varieties is yet another factor that has adversely affected fruit setting in major apple growing areas of the state. The horticulture census data (1989-90) reveal that in most of the orchards the pollinizing variety comprises only nine to ten percent against the 33 percent required for ensuring optimum pollination. Moreover in most of the orchards, Golden delicious has been planted as the major pollinizing variety, the flowering of which sometimes does not synchronize with the main Delicious varieties.

The orchardists must plant two or three varieties of pollinizers, properly spaced in entire orchard for ensuring adequate pollination. Varieties like Red Gold, Tydeman’s Early Worcester, Granny Smith, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Yellow Newton and Jonathan, besides carb apples like Golden Hornet, Snow Drift and Manchurian, can be planted as pollinizers for successful pollination.

Lack of pollinators: Pollination in apple is mainly done by the honey bees and other wild insect pollinators. It has been estimated that at least three beehives per hectare must be placed in orchard during flowering period to ensure pollination and fruit set.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Management Practices

This post is in continuation of our earlier post on Genetic Potential of a Cultivator part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Management Practices

Planting density: The latest concept throughout the world is the optimum utilization of available space to achieve the maximum level of production per unit space by accommodating the maximum number of plants in a given area and harvesting maximum solar energy through photosynthesis. The apple orchards in HP, however, have been planted at a spacing of 20 to 25 ft accommodating 250 to 300 plants/ha. Such orchards have a long gestation period of fifteen to twenty years, resulting in low productivity.

The superiority of high density plantations in apples employing semi-dwarf rootstock have been demonstrated at the Regional Horticultural Research station, Mashobra, where the yield up to 70t/ha has been obtained in comparision to 4.5 to 6.5 mt/ha average yield in the state.

Therefore, it would be advisable to adopt high density plantation in suitable areas for improving apple productivity.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Genetic Potential of a Cultivar

This is in continuation with the previous post on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

Genetic Potential of the Cultivar

In Himachal Pradesh, the Delicious group of apple varieties predominate. The horticulture census data (1989-90) have revealed that almost 90 per cent of the total apple plantation comprises the Delicious group of apples. These varieties are in general shy bearers, self-unfruitful and have strong tendency toward alternate bearing after a few years of commercial production. These varieties are also highly susceptible to temperature fluctuations during the flowering period resulting in low fruit set.

The majority of the apple plantations in HP have been developed on seedling rootstock, which do not have uniformity in production but produce vigorous plants with long gestation period. This is also one of the contributory factors for low productivity of apples per unit area.

This post is part of our series on Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh. Entire series is coverted through following topics

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

Keep following for the further posts.

Low Productivity in Apple: Contributing factors in Himachal Pradesh

The production data of apples in Himachal Pradesh reveal that there was considerable fluctuation in yield over years. The productivity of apples has been calculated on the basis of total production during a particular year divided by the estimated bearing area over ten years of age in the respective year.
The productivity has declined during the past thirty years has declined considerable from 6.5 mt/ha to nearly 4.5mt/ha thereby showing a decrease of thirty percent.

Causes of Low Production

Yield per hectare is the real indication of efficiency of the management in orchards. The decline in productivity of apple orchards in past few years has, therefore become a matter of concern to apple growers in Himachal Pradesh. The factors which affect the yield are the genetic potential of the varieties planted, the effect of climatic and environmental conditions and the management technology employed by the growers. The following major causes have been identified as responsible for low productivity in the apple orchards in Himachal Pradesh.

1. Genetic potential of the cultivar
2. Management Practices
3. Pollination Problems
4. Inadequate Nutrition
5. Poor Canopy Management
6. Moisture Stress
7. Old and Senile Orchards
8. Environmental factors

I shall continue with these factors in coming posts