ORCHARD ESTABLISHMENT

Location – refers to the geographical position or the

place where the orchard enterprise is located in
relation to a city, town or highway, market, or other
point of destination.

Site- to the immediate place where any given fruit

crop is produced.
 Clark Field, Pampanga

45
40
35
Rainfall (cm)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Davao

45
40
35
Rainfall (cm)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Production problems during establishment
Production problems during establishment

1. High transplant mortality during dry months

2. High transplant mortality during wet months

 High transplant mortality during dry months

Cause Options
Drought during March and With irrigation, transplanting can be
April done any time of the year.
Unsuitable month of
transplanting Without irrigation, consider the
following options:
In areas with distinct wet and dry
seasons, transplant the seedlings at
the onset of rains (May-June).
High transplant mortality during dry months
Cause
Rootstocks used for grafted
transplants are inherently shallow-
rooted (“Carabao” and “Pico”
rootstocks).
Options
In mango, use grafts with “Hawaiian”
or ‘Kachamitha’ rootstocks procured
from reliable nurseries.
Apply phosphorus fertilizer at
transplanting.
At transplanting (May-June), Apply
50 grams (handful) of complete (14-
14-14) + 39 grams (2 tablespoons)
solophos (0-18-0) at the bottom of
the planting hole, 8 cm below the
roots.
Apply 50 grams (handful) complete
(14-14-14) + 17 grams (1
tablespoon) of solophos (0-18-0) in
four holes at 30 cm depth, 12 cm
from base of the plant before the end
of the rainy season (October).
Plant banana suckers 50-75 cm west
from the base of the transplants.
Root system of “Hawaiian” as compared to that of other
rootstocks at 120 days after transplanting. Note the “Hawaiian”
roots emerging at the bottom of the pot .
Root length at varying depths within 0-30 cm horizontal distance
from root axis in grafted ‘Carabao” mango at low (A) and high (B)
P levels
Root length density within 0-10 cm radius from root axis, 30-40
cm depth for ‘Carabao’ mango grafted onto different
rootstocks, 120 days after transplanting.
 Root length density (cm cm-3)
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
0

b a

15

Soil depth (cm) b a

30
Low root length density a High root length density
b
0 mg P

200 mg P
45

Root length density of grafted ‘Carabao’ mango at low and high soil P levels across
rootstocks, 90 days after imposition of P treatments. Data points with different letters at a
given soil depth are different at P<0.05 (Gonzales, 2004).
High transplant mortality during dry months

Cause Options

Transplants are excessively Avoid applying pure Urea as basal

vegetative with shallow root fertilizer during the first year of
system establishment.

Apply complete fertilizer (14-14-14)

as option during transplanting.
 High transplant mortality during dry months
Cause Options

Fruit crop species grown may be Fruit crops sensitive to high

susceptible to high air temperature
or heat stress (e.g. lanzones and
rambutan)
temperature should be grown with
established companion perennial
crops (eq. coconut, banana) to provide
partial shade during establishment.
Emphasis should be given on
potassium fertilizer application as
potassium has major role in opening
stomates which cool off the leaves to
minimize leaf scorching or leaf
burning.
 High transplant mortality during dry months

Cause Option

Excessive canopy growth hence Apply pure organic fertilizer (chicken

high water demand manure) instead of inorganic N
fertilizers.

Increase the root length/leaf area ratio.

During severe drought where there is
no irrigation, defoliate the lower half of
the leaves in February to March.
 High transplant mortality during wet months
Causes Options
Waterlogging Do not establish mango orchards in
waterlogged areas predominantly
grown with tiger grass (tambo),
paragrass or kangkong. Plant mango in
dikes within rice farms.

If you insist to establish mango orchard

in waterlogged areas, do not dig, just
fix the ball of soil holding the seedling,
then hill-up to create an elevated
mound.

Create an elevated mound with a

center height of at least 50 cm. Dig a
hole on top of the mound just enough
to accommodate the ball of soil holding
the seedling.

Sorjan cropping system (trench digging

in between tree rows)
 High transplant mortality during wet months

Cause Option

Excessive weed growth Mulch the base of the seedling with at

least 25-cm thick plant-based materials
(cut grass, dried leaves, stubbles).

Resort to the use of weed barriers

(silvery gray plastic mulch) if you are
financially capable!

Check weed growth. Conduct ring

weeding at the onset of the dry season
(November-December).
 Planting Distance

Factors to consider in planting distance decisions

1. Fruit crop species

2. Expected or desired canopy size or pruning decisions
3. Multiple cropping options
4. Machinery
Planting distances of various fruit crops

Crop Planting distance

(meters)
Avocado 8.0
Banana 3.0
Cashew 8.0
Chico 8.0
Citrus 7.0
Durian 10.0
Guava 6.0
Jackfruit 8.0
Lanzones 6.0
Mango 10
Mangosteen 8.0
Papaya 4.0
Pineapple 0.3
Rambutan 8.0
Sweet tamarind 7.0
Advantages of dwarfed fruit trees
 Advantages of dwarfed fruit trees

1. High root to shoot ratio (more roots less shoots)

2. Prolific flowering and fruiting

3. High density planting (more trees per unit area)

4. Easy to manage

5. Less accident risk for farm worker

6. Early return on investment

7. Low labor cost (spraying, harvesting, fruit bagging)

8. High yield per unit area

Methods of dwarfing fruit trees

1. Use of dwarfing rootstocks

2. Use of interstock in grafts

3. Pruning after harvest

4. Application of growth retardants

5. Fertilizer management

6. Timing of irrigation
Size of “Ataulfo’ mango scions, six years after grafting (1998), as affected by
“Esmeralda’ interstock length.

Interstock Tree Transvers canopy Canopy Canopy

length height (m) al trunk diameter volume(m3) shade
(cm) area (cm2) (m) area (m2)
0 3.9 191.1a 3.6 24.4a 10.2
21-30 3.6 143.4b 3.5 21.7b 9.6
31-40 3.4 131.9b 3.2 16.4c 8.0
41-50 3.6 137.0b 3.3 18.0bc 8.5
Rootstock is ‘Creole’, 20 cm aboveground
Effect of ‘Esmeralda’ interstock length on yield per tree and ‘Ataulfo’ mango scion

Interstock 1997 harvest 1998 harvest

length (cm) Yield (kg/tree) Yield (kg/tree)
0 30.7 62.1
21-30 22.7 52.8
31-40 25.1 40.4
41-50 30.4 52.3
Estimated yield potential of ‘Ataulfo’ mango trees grafted onto
‘Esmeralda’ interstocks of 41-50 cm length at different tree spacing.

Tree Trees/ha Potential Potential

spacing yield cumulative
(m) (ton/ha) yield
(ton/ha)
10 x 10 100 6.2 11.1
10 x 5 200 10.5 19.6
6x6 277 14.5 27.0
5x5 400 20.9 39.3