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Grows fruits using natural farming practices. Shares tips on mango cultivation
“I am growing papaya, mangoes, sapota and custard apple in 200 acre. I strictly follow natural farming practices across my fruit orchard hence I am able to survive water scarcity as well as pests and diseases. Besides, the health of my trees is excellent and it shall fruit for many more years. The reason being beneficial microorganisms in the soil in my farmland are increasing consistently,” says Mr. Kuna Tippeswamy.
Mr. Kuna Tippeswamy
The farm is located in Rayadrug village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. He has planned the fruit trees in his orchard in a way that entire year he is getting the harvest thereby cash inflow in steady. “Further for all the fruits are sold to same set of buyers so a new search is not required for different fruits. I sell fruits to bulk purchases such as ecommerce stores, supermarkets and food processors,” he adds. In khariff season he also grows groundnut.
Mr. Tippeswamy is considered to be an expert in mango cultivation. In the orchard there are close to 8 thousand mango trees of different varieties however most popular varieties are Alphonso, Banganapalle, Mallika and Totapuri. To boost the growth and overall take care of the trees is done using zero budget natural farming practices. “Ours is a self-sufficient farm as all the farming inputs are prepared in-house from the dung and urine of desi cow. We have 50 numbers jawari local desi breed cows with us. These are adequate to manage our 200 acre farm,” he claims.
The regular season for mango flowering is from November to February and harvest from March to June. "I have observed production can be improved if the nutrients are given to the soil. Therefore we spray jeevamrutham twice a month through drip system in the soil to boost the tree growth,” he shares.
As preventive measures from diseases and pests dashparmi, neemastram and agnihotram are sprayed on the trees. “Usually if weather conditions are normal pests never attack the trees. However, when it rains without season precisely during flowering and early fruit development then the trees have severe threat of Anthracnose fungus infection. This rots the flowers and young fruits resulting in dropping or poor quality! Therefore soon after the rain stops or light drizzle, we spray these extracts,” he emphasizes. Delay in spraying these natural extracts after un-timely rain could be fatal as the fungus would spread and damage couple of hours. “Besides after the rain stops we shake the branches to remove water droplets from flowers and young fruits as much as possible.”
A close monitoring of the trees must be done regularly in order to check on its health. “The trees would exhibit certain symptoms if it is suffering adversely,” asserts Mr. Tippeswamy. General indications for overall good health of mango trees are crisp, dark green coloured leaves and plum dormant bud tips. In routine the tree needs 8-10 months rejuvenation, “It implies tree need this long time to accumulate and store sufficient food nutrients in its system to last fruiting and support new flowering and fruiting cycle.”
Excessive flowering in the trees is not good that is 90 - 100% foliage flowers! “It is dangerous for the tree because it will use all its energy in taking care of all the flowers and in the fruiting stage there will be not enough strength left for fruit development. Consequently there shall be massive dropping and in the end production would be too low. Therefore, in such a situation shed the flowering to 70 - 80% to secure the full fruit development with big size and sweet taste!” explains Mr. Tippeswamy.
Also it should be ensured mango orchard has dry and sunny days before and during flowering. “Trees need one month dry period before harvest to ensure fruit does not crack or drops instead gain good pulp and firm built,” he adds.
Mango fruit matures in 90 days and is ready to harvest in 120-135 days from flowering. These days with erratic climate there is immense variation in ripen fruits therefore Mr. Tippeswamy suggests two tests. “Pick a fruit randomly and cut it half. If the pulp is yellow it is ready to harvest and if it is white then it is an immature fruit. Second test is floatation check. Mix half teaspoon salt in 10 liter seawater. Dip mango fruit in it. If it sinks it implies it is ready for harvest else it is immature.”
Most of the mangoes from Mr. Tippeswamy’s farm are used for fresh table use hence are naturally ripened. ‘We pack the mangoes with utmost care in natural hay and dried grass in the corrugated boxes. These are sealed properly ensuring moisture doesn’t enters the box. Later the boxes are sent for dispatch,” he shares.
“Farming process is an art. The end result shall be beautiful only if throughout the process detailing is done at every step with patience and close concentration. One mistake and ending is affected. So enjoy the process and stay attentive always!!” he signs off.
Contact details:
Mr. Kuna Tippeswamy
Rayadrug Village, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh
Mobile: +91 94410 74446
Email: express.kuna@gmail.com
“I am growing papaya, mangoes, sapota and custard apple in 200 acre. I strictly follow natural farming practices across my fruit orchard hence I am able to survive water scarcity as well as pests and diseases. Besides, the health of my trees is excellent and it shall fruit for many more years. The reason being beneficial microorganisms in the soil in my farmland are increasing consistently,” says Mr. Kuna Tippeswamy.
Mr. Kuna Tippeswamy
The farm is located in Rayadrug village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. He has planned the fruit trees in his orchard in a way that entire year he is getting the harvest thereby cash inflow in steady. “Further for all the fruits are sold to same set of buyers so a new search is not required for different fruits. I sell fruits to bulk purchases such as ecommerce stores, supermarkets and food processors,” he adds. In khariff season he also grows groundnut.
Mr. Tippeswamy is considered to be an expert in mango cultivation. In the orchard there are close to 8 thousand mango trees of different varieties however most popular varieties are Alphonso, Banganapalle, Mallika and Totapuri. To boost the growth and overall take care of the trees is done using zero budget natural farming practices. “Ours is a self-sufficient farm as all the farming inputs are prepared in-house from the dung and urine of desi cow. We have 50 numbers jawari local desi breed cows with us. These are adequate to manage our 200 acre farm,” he claims.
The regular season for mango flowering is from November to February and harvest from March to June. "I have observed production can be improved if the nutrients are given to the soil. Therefore we spray jeevamrutham twice a month through drip system in the soil to boost the tree growth,” he shares.
As preventive measures from diseases and pests dashparmi, neemastram and agnihotram are sprayed on the trees. “Usually if weather conditions are normal pests never attack the trees. However, when it rains without season precisely during flowering and early fruit development then the trees have severe threat of Anthracnose fungus infection. This rots the flowers and young fruits resulting in dropping or poor quality! Therefore soon after the rain stops or light drizzle, we spray these extracts,” he emphasizes. Delay in spraying these natural extracts after un-timely rain could be fatal as the fungus would spread and damage couple of hours. “Besides after the rain stops we shake the branches to remove water droplets from flowers and young fruits as much as possible.”
A close monitoring of the trees must be done regularly in order to check on its health. “The trees would exhibit certain symptoms if it is suffering adversely,” asserts Mr. Tippeswamy. General indications for overall good health of mango trees are crisp, dark green coloured leaves and plum dormant bud tips. In routine the tree needs 8-10 months rejuvenation, “It implies tree need this long time to accumulate and store sufficient food nutrients in its system to last fruiting and support new flowering and fruiting cycle.”
Excessive flowering in the trees is not good that is 90 - 100% foliage flowers! “It is dangerous for the tree because it will use all its energy in taking care of all the flowers and in the fruiting stage there will be not enough strength left for fruit development. Consequently there shall be massive dropping and in the end production would be too low. Therefore, in such a situation shed the flowering to 70 - 80% to secure the full fruit development with big size and sweet taste!” explains Mr. Tippeswamy.
Also it should be ensured mango orchard has dry and sunny days before and during flowering. “Trees need one month dry period before harvest to ensure fruit does not crack or drops instead gain good pulp and firm built,” he adds.
Mango fruit matures in 90 days and is ready to harvest in 120-135 days from flowering. These days with erratic climate there is immense variation in ripen fruits therefore Mr. Tippeswamy suggests two tests. “Pick a fruit randomly and cut it half. If the pulp is yellow it is ready to harvest and if it is white then it is an immature fruit. Second test is floatation check. Mix half teaspoon salt in 10 liter seawater. Dip mango fruit in it. If it sinks it implies it is ready for harvest else it is immature.”
Most of the mangoes from Mr. Tippeswamy’s farm are used for fresh table use hence are naturally ripened. ‘We pack the mangoes with utmost care in natural hay and dried grass in the corrugated boxes. These are sealed properly ensuring moisture doesn’t enters the box. Later the boxes are sent for dispatch,” he shares.
“Farming process is an art. The end result shall be beautiful only if throughout the process detailing is done at every step with patience and close concentration. One mistake and ending is affected. So enjoy the process and stay attentive always!!” he signs off.
Contact details:
Mr. Kuna Tippeswamy
Rayadrug Village, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh
Mobile: +91 94410 74446
Email: express.kuna@gmail.com