MULTAN: Agriculture experts have advised growers to get soil and water analyzed from laboratory before mango nursery sowing while soil having pH value ranging from 5.5 to 7.5 is considered suitable for the purpose.
Farmers must have knowledge of the combination of minerals, food, and pH value of the soil to take appropriate decisions for nursery growth, says a release issued by the media liaison unit of the Punjab agriculture department on Monday.
July-Aug is the best period for mango nursery growth. Before sowing, well rotten animal waste fertilizers be applied to the levelled land. Eight to ten trollies of this fertilizers along with ten bags of SSP and two bags SOP per acre be applied and then the field be irrigated.
Narrow walkways be maintained within the field for transportation of nursery saplings and application of agronomic practices by hand. Small drains be maintained after every two rows for irrigation. Healthy seed be utilized for healthy nursery and an acre of nursery can produce 35000 to 40000 saplings.
Mango stones be sown together in a way that each stone is connected to the other. Then the seed be covered with a 3-5 centimetre layer of well rotten farm yard manure or animal waste fertilizers. The rows be irrigated after every two to three days. Saplings start budding out after ten days and the process continues for another ten to eleven days.
The saplings be shifted to nursery as soon as they attain the greenish look, however, those which get their stone detached should be destroyed.
Before shifting, the sapling be detached from the soil by cutting the thick root by five to seven centimetre below the stone. The plant to plant and row to row distance be maintained at 25-30 centimetres. And, a space of 60-70 cm be left empty after every four rows to enable farmers perform grafting.
Water requirements of the nursery be taken care of properly. The dried, weaker or diseased plants be removed and replaced by healthier ones.
Weeds be removed through hoeing by hand, however, farmers should be cautious that they should not damage the mango saplings' roots during this process.
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