Cultivation of aonla.

Full Cultivation of Amla

1. Presentation on Aonla Davinder Handa M.Sc. Agri. (Fruit Science)

2. AONLA Botanical Name Emblica officinalis Family Euphorbiaceae Chromosome No. 2n= 28 Fruit Type Berry Origin Tropical Asia Edible part Mesocarp and Endocarp Common name Indian gooseberry

3. Introduction Amla is highly nutritive and popularly known as ‘ Amrit phal ’. It is wind pollinated as the pollen grains are light and are produced in abundance. It is very rich in vitamin C, pectin and minerals. Fruit is valued high among indigenous medicines in India. It is the main ingredients in Chawanprash . Amla has a great potential due to its high medicinal and nutritive values and more productivity even on marginal lands.

4. Composition of Aonla Composition of Aonla Fruits Moisture 8.2 percent Phosphorus 0.02 percent Protein 0.5 percent Iron 1.2 percent Fat (ether extraction ) 0.1 percent Calorific value 59/100 gm Mineral matter 0.7 percent Vitamin B 1 30 mg/ 100 gm Fibre 3.4 percent Nicotinic acid 0.2 mg/100 gm Carbohydrates 14.0 percent Vitamin C 600mg/100gm Calcium 0.05 percent     Source : Extension Bulletin No. 22, IIHR. Bangalore .

5. Area and Production It is commercially cultivated in Varanasi, Agra and Kanpur area of Uttar Pradesh. In India it occupies an area of 93 thousand hectares with an annual production of 1075 thousand million tonnes . In Punjab it is being grown on 217 hectares only.

6. General uses Candy Powder Hair oil Juice Dried chips Murabha

7. Climatic and soil requirements Climate Aonla is a subtropical fruit but its cultivation in tropical climate is quite successful. The tree is not much influenced either by hot wind or frost. The mature plants can tolerate freezing temperature as well as a temperature as high as 46 ºC . The young plants should be protected from hot wind (loo) during May-June and from frost during winter, at least up to the age of ¾ years under North Indian conditions.

8. Soil Aonla can be grown in light as well as heavy soils except very sandy one. However , well-drained fertile loamy soil is the best. The plants have capacity for adaptation to dry regions and can also grow in moderately alkaline soils. It is a potential crop for degraded lands and the marginal soils having soil pH of 6.0 to 9.5.

9. Varieties Balwant It is chance seedling developed from cultivar Banarasi . Tree semi-tall with semi spreading growth habit and dense foliage. Fruit is flattened round and moderate in size. Fruit skin is rough, yellowish green with pink tinge. Flesh is slightly fibrous, whitish green, soft, juicy and highly astringent . Stone is moderate in size and nearly rectangular in shape. It is earliest variety and matures in middle of November. Its average yield is 121 Kg per tree.

10. Neelum It is seedling selection from open pollinated strain of cultivar Francis. Tree is tall with semi-spreading growth habit and dense foliage. Fruit skin smooth, semi translucent and yellowish green . Flesh is almost fibreless and soft. Stone is medium in size and oval round in shape . It is a mid-season variety and matures in end November. Its average yield is 121 Kg per tree.

11. Kanchan It is a chance seedling from cultivar Chakaiya . Tree is tall with upright growth habit, sparse foliage. Fruit is flattened-oblong in shape and small to medium in size. Flesh is fibrous, hard and ideally suited for processing. Stoneis small and round. It is late in maturity and matures in mid-December. Its average yield is 111 Kg per tree.

12. Banarasi The fruits are large in size flattened oblong with smooth skin, yellowish with characteristic three raised segments. On an average each fruit weighs 38g. Trees are having upright growth habit.

13. Krishna : (NA – 4) A chance seedling of Banarasi developed at Narendra Deva Agrl . University, Faizabad with medium to large size (40 g) conical, angular, smooth yellowish fruits with red blush on the exposed surface . It has fibreless flesh which is semitransparent and hard . It is a moderate bearer.

14. Propagation Seed The aonla plants have long been raised from seeds but the plants do not come true-to-type and produces small sized fruits, inferior in quality . Seedlings are raised from seeds and used as root stock .

15. Vegetative propagation Shield budding or patch budding It is the commercial method of aonla propagation under North Indian conditions. It is propagated during June-September. Patch budding gave a success of 70-81.1 percent.

16. Patch Budding

17. Top working Older trees of inferior type can be rejuvenated and easily changed into superior type by resorting top working. Inferior trees can be headed back to a height of 1*2 metres from the ground during March and its stumps produced can be shield budded in early June with scions of improved varieties . Frost damaged older aonla plants were also rejuvenated by T-budding

18. Aonla Rejuvenation

19. Planting After deep and thorough ploughing, pits of 1 cubic metre size can be dug at a spacing of 7.5x7.5 m during February-March and August- September. and filled up with 10-15 kg of well decomposed FYM. The budded plant or seedlings for in-situ budding. To get good yield, plants of atleast two varieties should be planted together g (especially in dry areas) can be planted at the onset monsoon rains.

20. Training and Pruning The tree should be trained to single stem up to the height of 75 cm. Then select 4 to 6 well-spaced main branches in all directions around the trunk. When the crops started bearing early year after the harvest of fruits, dead, diseased, weak and criss-cross branches should be pruned. The water sprouts and rootstock growth should be watched and periodically removed.

21. Manures and Fertilizers Apply 15-20 Kg per plant farmyard manure to young plants and 30-40 Kg per tree to mature plants during July. In addition, apply 50 g nitrogen (110 g Urea) to each one-year-old plant. Increase this dose of N by 50g each year up to 10 years and apply 500 g of nitrogen (1100 g Urea) to mature plants thereafter.

22. Irrigation Young plantation shout be irrigated at 10-15 days intervals during summer. In bearing plantation, irrigation should be avoided during flowering. During early stages of establishment, the plants should be watered periodically especially during summer. Fully mature trees are seldom watered . However, irrigation during April-June one in 15 days will help to encourage fruit set and prevent fruit drop .

23. Intercroping Leguminous crops, viz., moong, cowpea, urid , etc., can be grown up to 8 years when the plants usually remain in non-bearing stage and their root system and top growth are not much developed.

24. Deficiency Boron Deficiency Symptoms Fruit necrosis which begins with the browning of inner most part of the mesocarpic tissues at the time of endocarp hardening . This is extended towards the epicarp resulting into brownish black areas on the fruit surfaces depending of the severity of the disorder, mesocarp of affected fruits turns black from brown which later turns into corky and gummy pockets . Correction Measure Spray of Borax 0.6% thrice at monthly intervals.

25. Boron Deficiency

26. Plant protection 1 . Bark eating caterpillar- Indarbela tetraonis Biology : Eggs: 350 on bark in May-June, Spherical eggs, usually singly, are laid in bark cracks. No . of generation : 1/year Larva : Larval period 8-10 months till about 3rd week of April . The larval stage is for about 10 months. The larva is brown to black, shiny, sparsely hairy and measures 4.5-5.0 cm before pupation.

27. Pupa Pupation inside larval tunnel, pupal period is about 21-41 days. Adult: Moth is creamy white with brown markings on the forewing. Moth longevity is 3 days.

28. Life cycle:

29. Damage symptoms: Make tunnels in the main trunk and branches Larvae construct loose irregular webbing of silken threads Deterioration of vitality, reduction in yield Favourable conditions: Attacks in April at initiation of new growth after dormancy.

30. Bark eating caterpillar

31. Management Keep the orchards clean. Collect loose and damaged barks and destroy them. Kill larvae by inserting thin iron spike or wire into the hole. Spot application of 10 ml of Monocrotophos or fenthion or methyl parathion / 1 L of water.

32. 2. Apical twig gall maker - Betousa stylophora Damage symptoms: In the beginning of the infestation terminal shoots swell, which increases in size with the passage of time. The young insects penetrate from apical portion of the shoot after the monsoon and feedinside the tissue, changing into galls. Growth of shoot is hampered and few lateral shootsdevelop below galls. Full size galls can be seen in the month of October-November . Favourable conditions : Favourable condition is rainy season. Attacks during monsoon on onset of new growth .

33. Management Common mechanical practices: Collect and destroy disease infected and insect infested plant parts. Collect and destroy eggs and early stage larvae. Handpick the older larvae during early stages. Hand pick the gregarious caterpillars and cocoons which are found on stem/branches and destroy them in kerosene mixed water. Use yellow sticky traps @ 4-5 trap/acre. Use light trap @ 1/acre and operate between 6 pm and 10 pm. Install pheromone traps @ 4-5/acre for monitoring adult moths activity (replace the lures with fresh lures after every 2-3 weeks). Set up bonfire during evening hours at 7-8 pm .

34. 3. Aphids - Setaphis bougainvilleae Theob . Biology: Eggs : Eggs hatch after one or two days. Young aphids, called nymphs. Nymph : Oval or slightly elongated, reddish brown with six segmented antennae Adult : Aphids reproduce in two ways: by laying eggs and laying live young, which birth process is depending on environmental conditions and the availability of food. When food is plentiful, aphids give birth to live young. Populations develop quickly as this pest has many young, a short life span and pre-adult insects can also give birth.

35. Favourable condition: The incidence of this pest is mainly seen from July to October with the peak period in September. Damage Nymph and adults suck sap by remaining on the under surface of leaves Yellowing of leaves wit sugary executes (honey dew)

36. Life cycle

37. Natural enemies of aphids: Parasitoids: Aphidius colemani Predators: Dicyphus hesperus , Lacewing, Ladybird beetle.

38. 4. Mealy Bug – Ferrisia virgata Biology: Nymph : Yellowish to pale white . Adult : Females apterous , long, slender covered with white waxy secretions. Incubation period 3 to 4 hours. Egg masses on leaves under female. The developmental period of nymph of male and female varies from 31 to 57 and 26 - 47 days respectively. Longevity of male is 1-3 days and female is 36-53 days. Favourable condition: Moist and warm conditions are most favourable .

39. Damage twig The nymphs were found sucking the cell sap from tender shoots or twigs, The infestation was at a very low level. Control measure Generalized predators viz., spiders and mantid were observed feeding on this pest on aonla trees.

40. Mealy Bug

41. Life cycle

42. 5. Pomegranate/ Anar butterfly: Biology: Eggs: On calyx of flowers or on fruits, egg period is about 7-10 days. Larva : Short, stout, dark brown with short hairs and whitish patches all over the body and 2 cm long . Larval period is about 18 to 47 days. Pupa: Pupation inside the fruit or on fruit stalk, pupal period is about 7-34 days. Adults: Medium sized, males are bluish violet while females are brownish violet with orange patch on forewings. Life cycle : 1-2 months. No. of generation are 4 per year. Pest is active throughout the year.

43. Life Cycle

44. Favourable condition: Attack of this insect occurs during September-October, coinciding well with the fruiting. Damage symptoms: Caterpillars bore the fruits, feed on pulp and seeds. Damaged fruits subsequently get infected by bacteria resulting in rotting of fruits. Such rotten fruit gives offensive smell and fall down. The excreta of the larva around the entry holes are seen.

45. Diseases Rust: Disease symptoms: On fruits initially few black pustules appear which later develop in to a ring. The pustules join together and cover big area of the fruit. On leaves, pinkish brown pustules develop which may be arranged in group or scattered as infection of fruit does not go on leaves and vice-versa. Teleospores of Ravenelia emblicae causes the fruit and leaf infection. Favourable condition: Favourable condition is after monsoon in September.

46. Disease cycle

47. Management Common cultural practices: Collect and destroy crop debris Provide irrigation at the critical stages of the crop Avoid water logging Avoid water stress during flowering stage Follow judicious use of fertilizers Enhance parasitic activity by avoiding chemical pesticide spray, when 1-2 larval parasitoids are observed in the crops field.

48. 2. Soft rot Disease symptoms: Smoke brown to black round lesions develop on fruits within 2-3 days of infection. The diseased parts later show olive brown discoloration with water soaked areas extending toward both the ends of fruits forming an eye shaped appearance. Infected fruits become dark brown, crinkled with softening of underlining tissues and get deformed. Fungus causes infection both in young and mature fruits, but mature fruits are found to be more Susceptible. Favourable conditions: Disease is favored by hot and wet weather. The optimum temperature for fungal growth is 29˚C and it grows well up to 32˚C.

49. Disease cycle

50. Soft rot Disease

51. Management Cultural control: Prune and destroy pruned cuttings and debris by burning, burying, or ploughing them into the soil. Avoid injury to fruits.

52. Flowering, Pollination and Fruit-set Flowering Flower bud differentiation of Banarasi aonla is in the first week of March. The development of male and female gametophyte was normal . The flowers commence opening from the last week of March and the blooming period lasts for 3 weeks. Male flowers appear in clusters in the axil of leaf all over the branchlet while female flowers on the upper end of a few branchlets only. The maximum number of male flowers open between 6 and 7 p.m. and dehiscence of anthers occurs soon or about 10-15 minutes after anthesis . The female flowers open in stages and it takes 72 hours to open completely and the stigma becomes receptive on the third day of anthesis .

53. Pollination and fruit set It is wind pollinated as the pollen grains are light and are produced in abundance. Although actual fertilization could not be traced, zygote was observed within 24 to 36 hours of pollination . There is no self-incompatibility in aonla and the cause of poor fruit-set may be due to a high percentage of staminate flowers . An increase in fruit set under hand pollination indicates the need of pollinating agents for better setting.

54. Flower and fruit drop Flower and fruit drop are at three stages . The ‘first drop’ is heaviest as 70 per cent of the flowers drop off within three weeks of flowering due to degeneration of the egg apparatus and lack of pollination. The ‘second drop' occurs from June to September due to lack of pollination and fertilization. The ‘third drop’ consists of fruits of various stages beginning from third week of August until October probably due to embryological and physiological factors.

55. Harvesting Fruit should be harvested at full maturity. Budded Amla plants start bearing after 4-5 years of age and the trees start commercial yield at the age of 10 years. The average yield is about 150 kg/tree/year.

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