Fruit Production and Orchard Management
Domain 2 tests orchard planning and the year-round management of fruit crops, especially mango, banana, citrus, guava, papaya, cashew and coconut in Odisha conditions. Expect questions on spacing, planting, training, pruning, pollination, fruit drop and orchard records.
Core rules
- Select a site with good sunlight, drainage and access. Avoid low-lying pockets where water stands during monsoon.
- Prepare pits before planting and incorporate well-rotted organic matter. Keep the graft union above soil level.
- Spacing depends on species and rootstock vigour. Square planting is easiest to calculate; rectangular and triangular systems change plant number.
- Training shapes the young plant; pruning removes unwanted growth from mature plants. Do not treat the terms as synonyms.
- Many fruit crops benefit from cross-pollination. Plant compatible pollinizers and protect pollinators from unnecessary spraying.
- Fruit drop occurs in waves. Distinguish normal physiological drop from stress-related drop caused by moisture, nutrition or pests.
Worked example
A farmer plants guava at 5 m × 5 m in a 1-hectare square block. One hectare is 10,000 m². Each plant occupies 5 × 5 = 25 m². Plant number = 10,000 ÷ 25 = 400 plants. If the farmer changes to 5 m × 4 m, each plant occupies 20 m², giving 500 plants. The calculation assumes the whole area is planted and ignores border paths.
Traps that cost marks
Do not confuse rootstock with scion. Do not describe pruning as training. Do not assume all fruit drop is disease. Check whether spacing is given in metres or centimetres before dividing. Remember that higher density increases plant number but also competition and disease pressure.