“Key Informant Survey” of Production, Value, Losses and ... - DfID

since last 5 years. Area-3 ha. Var. 'Kalipatti'. Planting distance:-25 x 25m.They
made pits of 2 x 2 feet, added organic manure in pit. Weeding should be done two
times in a year. He said that the no-risk of crop failure is the great advantage of
chiku, & continuous bearing. Chiku performing solid status in area. Amalsad co-op.
society sends fruits to Delhi market & other part of India, so there is no problem of
market & value also. In summer, the fruits are ripe earlier due to high temp. & fall
down.
PESTS seed borer, fruit fly, bud borer etc.
SEED BORER Nowadays, seed borer is a threat to chiku growers in this area. A larva
feeds on seed. They don't know anything regarding how it develops & enters in seed.
When the harvested fruits were washed, they saw holes on fruits. Ants entered in such
fruits & fruits rotting. Chiku plantation is decreasing in area, some farmers' cut
off orchard, it may be due to the seed borer. Max. infestation found after rainfall.
He said that this pest is dangerous in future as it loss market value to the half of
it's original value. Sometimes holed fruits rejected by co-op. society. Larva is
internal feeder; it is not response to any insecticides spray. He thinks that early
spraying in May-June which kills the eggs, but same time they are engaged in Mango
harvesting. He said that, pest loss ranging from 25 to 50% throughout the year. He
mentioned that he uses sprays of different insecticides but not able to manage them.
FRUIT FLY DAMAGE It is also one of the dangerous pests since chiku growing in our
area. In the months of Mar.-July (summer) heavy damage caused to chiku fruits, & low
during winter. Fallen fruits may be the reason for population build-up of fruit fly.
It is a heavy problem, fruits mature early & fall down. While in market, damage can't
be seen by naked eyes, so there is no problem.
FF MANAGEMENT: FRUIT FLY TRAP He is using traps since last 5-6 yrs which is
distributed by co-op. society free of cost to farmers. He recharges trap every 20-25
days with attracting solution given by co-op. Easy to install. The traps are very
good in trapping flies. One man should install 25- 30 traps within 1 hr. FF
MANAGEMENT: TULSI PLANT He also grows Tulsi plant in & around orchard since last 6
years, for attracting fruit flies. He said that population high in summer then he
sprays tulsi with insecticides which are available in farm (monocrotofos, neucron,
rocket, roger, quinalphos). He has thousands of Tulsi plants in orchard. It is also
good practice & without any problem.
FF MANAGEMENT: COLLECTION OF FRUITS He collects the fallen fruits & buries them deep
in the field as he knows fruit flies develop in fallen fruits. He added sanitation is
important.
MANGO He planted mango in between chiku, var. 'KESAR', nearly 400 trees from last
20-25 years. Mango is less labourious than chiku (complete within Oct.-June). Time &
labour saving. Distance bet. trees - 25 x 25m. He added 10kg poultry manure/ tree
every year. He thinks it is good but riskier than chiku. There is effect of climatic
condition on bearing some times - alternate-bearing problem. Malformation is a
problem but copper oxychloride works well for it.
JASSIDS He said that they suck sap from tender leaves & flowers. When humidity is
high, it becomes a problem, can be managed by alternative sprayings of monocrotophos,
Rocket, neemazal (antifeedant, does not kill the insects), Kareena, neucron etc.
Granular insecticides mixed with 'GERU' - a kind of red clay - & painted on trunk.
FRUIT FLY Nowadays fruit flies are a major problem day by day. Mango mixed with chiku
shows high damage. He thinks individual crop should be grow instead of mixed with
chiku. Fruit flies are higher in May-July because mango food preferred more by them
due to sweetness. All farmers are not adopting trapping system, they are lazy, it
became a major problem. 20-30% loss in mango by fruit flies.
IMFFI Semi-Structured Interview Survey - 22 of 66