Take care of your crops and fruits in this way during winter season, and you will get bumper yield

Care of Winter Crops: In North India, the environment undergoes several changes throughout the winter months. There are occasions when the temperature drops below zero and fog persists for many days. The sun’s beams are completely invisible. Fruit crops with milky secretions suffer more during the winter months because of the very low temperatures, which cause the secretions to flow improperly within the tree or plant, turning the plants yellow and making them seem ill. To minimize loss and maximize profit in such a setting, gardeners want to know what to do and what not to do.

Fruit crops need entirely different management than grain crops due to their perpetual nature. In February, fruit crops such as litchi and mango blossom. As a result, knowing what to do and what not to do becomes more crucial. If not, there will be a greater chance of loss rather than gain.

Mango Orchard Maintenance

Keeping fresh mango orchard plants safe from frost throughout the winter months is crucial. To prevent frost damage to the young plants, thatch composed of hay or straw should be placed over the plants in the nursery in January. The garden should sometimes get mild watering to help prevent frost damage. The garden should also be cleaned and weeded on a regular basis.

The large mango trees that are ready to bloom need extra attention. It will be up to them to produce fruit. The blooms that appear during the first week of January are often in the shape of bunches and do not yield fruit. Consequently, it is best to clip and eliminate such flowers. Mango fertilizer should be used between June and September 15th. For mango trees that are ten years of age or older, use 500 grams of nitrogen, 500 grams of phosphorus, and 750 grams of potash per plant at this time. Lightly water them after mixing them into the soil. Complete the garden’s cleaning and weeding.

To protect the mango orchard from mealybugs (Gujiya), tie a 2.5- to 3-foot-wide polyethylene strip on the trunk of each tree and mix 250 grams of chlorpyrifos dust per tree in the soil surrounding the tree according to the canopy at the end of December, after the upper surface of the orchard has been cleared of weeds by very light weeding. In addition, apply Beauveria bassiana, a predator, to the soil surface to kill adult insects (2 grams per liter, 1×10 power 7 spores per ml, or 5% neem seed kernels).

Remove any weeds from the tree’s surroundings in February. One milliliter of imidacloprid dissolved in two liters of water may be sprayed to control mango hoppers, and in the last week of February, one milliliter of the fungicide Karathane dissolved in one liter of water can be sprayed to prevent powdery mildew disease. If low temperatures are causing fewer buds to emerge, use 3 grams of soluble sulfur dissolved in 1 liter of water in place of the fungicide Karathane. This will raise the temperature of the surrounding area, allowing the buds to emerge freely and preventing powdery mildew disease. It’s important to remember that the plants bloom these days, especially if There will be fewer fruits because of insufficient pollination if any pesticide is applied to the blossoms, which will prevent pollinating insects from visiting the orchard. In February, trim the little mango plants of their thatch.

Lychee Care

Mango orchard management techniques may be used to litchi orchard management as well. In January, make plans for protection against frost. In February, litchi should not be irrigated when it is in bloom since this may result in the blossoms falling. Water should be properly arranged both before and after blossoming. To prevent a powdery mildew disease outbreak, use the pesticides that are advised for litchi. In February, use half as much calcium ammonium nitrate, or 1.5 kg per plant. Water the litchi orchards that have just been planted. Do the orchards’ cleaning and weeding.

Care of Citrus Fruits

In January, give them one or two irrigations and take all precautions against frost. The seeds should be sown in polythene to prepare the rootstock. Use 50 kg of cow dung manure, 500 grams of nitrogen, 250 grams of phosphate, and 400 grams of potash per mature lemon plant, then gently water. Clean the orchards and remove any weeds. In February, avoid irrigating a few days before blossoming, since this might cause all of the blooms to fall. Spray 2-4, D at 1 gram per liter of water if there is a significant issue with blooms or fruits dropping. While the fruits are developing, keep them well hydrated. By the end of February, budding may be done to get new plants ready.

Banana Crop Care

For frost protection, irrigate between the first and third weeks of January. In addition to smoking the orchards in the evening, use mulch to shield them from frost. Use bamboo sticks to support the plants if they are not already supported. During the first and third weeks of February, apply irrigation. Remove every other leaf that emerges from the plant’s base, with the exception of the sword leaf (bhustari). 10 liters of water should be sprayed with 60 grams of nitrogen. Clean the orchards and remove any weeds.

Papaya Plant Care

Papaya is severely damaged by frost. Make sufficient preparations to shield it from frost in January. Continue to water the plants on schedule and cover them with straw. By the end of February, take the straw away. In February, give each plant 25 grams of nitrogen, 50 grams of phosphorus and 100 grams of potassium. Clean the orchards and remove any weeds. Water the papaya crops that have just been planted. Do the orchards’ cleaning and weeding.

Care of Plum Plants

Although plum trees are often robust, the powdery mildew fungus severely damages them. In February, apply two milliliters of the fungicide Karathane to one liter of water to prevent this. After fifteen days, repeat the same spraying. By the end of February, farmers may also grow plum plants. In February, early plum varieties begin to mature. Harvesting should be done in the morning or evening to preserve the fruits. Fruits should be evaluated and categorized according to size and color after they are harvested. Following sorting, the fruits may be stored in bamboo baskets, cardboard or wooden boxes, jute sacks, nylon mesh bags, or cloth sheets before being shipped to the market. Take care of the gardens’ cleaning and weeding.

Care of Strawberry Plants

In Bihar, strawberries are growing in popularity. It is now grown in almost every district in Bihar. In January, we weeded the strawberry field. Use the preferred mulch, such as polythene or straw, if mulch is not applied. Apply gibberellic acid (75 ppm) in early February and continue timely irrigation to ensure high-quality fruits. Spray Dithane-M-45 (2 grams per liter of water) or Bavistin (1 gram per liter of water) if spots start to emerge on the leaves. In February, Bihar’s strawberry harvest is ready. Plan to harvest it, package it in 250-gram portions, and deliver it to the marketplace.

Care of Guava Plants

In January, keep picking fruits from guava plantations. The morning is the ideal time of day to pluck. Depending on the variety, fruits should be picked when they are at their largest size and mature green (when the fruit’s surface turns from dark to light green). During this period, the fruits also emit a nice scent. Be careful not to combine overripe fruits with other fruits that have been picked. Each fruit’s color and storage capacity are enhanced when it is packed with newspaper.

Fruits should be shielded from scratches from rubbing against one another when being packed. To do this, the quantity of fruits that must be stored in the box must be calculated based on the box’s dimensions. In January, a lack of micronutrients causes the leaves to turn brown. As a result, spray one liter of water with four grams of copper and zinc sulfate dissolved in it. In addition to removing blooms and reducing watering, guava should be sprayed with naphthalene acetic acid (100 ppm) to produce an excellent winter harvest rather than a subpar yield during the wet season. During the previous season, 10–15 cm of the branches were formed. You should cut the front part. In addition, branches that are entangled, sick, or damaged should be cut off. Apply Bordeaux paste or three grams of copper oxychloride mixed in one liter of water to the branches’ cut sections as soon as possible after pruning. Clean the orchards and remove any weeds. Water the guava orchards that have just been planted.

Care of Jackfruit Tree

Finish this task in January if fertilizer and manure were not applied in December. Take precautions against frost damage to little plants. Apply a polythene strip to mango trees to protect them against mealybug attacks toward the end of February.

Care of Amla trees

Amla fruit harvesting may go on until January or February in northern India. Therefore, in order to keep the branches from breaking, plans should be developed to use bamboo sticks to support the fruit-bearing trees in these places. Make appropriate preparations for the sale as a result. Fruits also develop at this period; therefore, irrigation has to be set up properly. However, to ensure that the fruits are available on time, irrigation should be halted 15 days before harvest. Plantation work may begin in the second two weeks of February and continue through March in regions with adequate irrigation systems as spring approaches. Additionally, the whole tree should be treated with sulfuric acid (0.1%) in regions where frost is a possibility in the winter.

If necessary, spray again. Avoid irrigating in February since it is the season for blossoming, which brings new leaves. Create basins and remove weeds from the Amla orchard. 10 kilograms of cow dung or compost manure, 100 grams of nitrogen, 50 grams of phosphate, and 75 grams of potash are required for an Amla plant that is one year old. This amount should be raised to 100 kg of cow dung or compost manure, 1 kilogram for plants that are 10 years old or older. There will be 750 grams of potash, 500 grams of phosphate, and nitrogen. Utilize all of the phosphorus, half of the nitrogen, and half of the potash from the specified amount in January. Take care of the gardens’ cleaning and weeding.