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Canal Irrigation in Mango trees

Why Was the Project Done?

Mangoes do not need irrigation throughout the year, except for young, non-fruit bearing trees which need ample irrigation for vegetative growth. On the other hand, old, fruit-bearing trees are irrigated periodically only, during flowering and fruiting stages when adequate soil moisture is crucial.

Very few documented studies have been done on the effect of irrigation on fruit-bearing carabao mango trees. This study hopes to add to the body of existing knowledge on the effects of controlled irrigation water management in a commercial-scale mango plantation.

In general, this project aims to develop an irrigation protocol for carabao mango at the Benguet Management Company (BMC) mango plantation in Iba, Zambales, and the National Mango Research and Development Center (NMRDC) mango plantation in Guimaras Island, Iloilo. Specifically, it plans to (1) design and implement a carabao mango irrigation treatment setup at the BMC and NMRDC mango plantations in coordination with flower induction and soil fertilization activities. The project also wishes to (2) conduct a study of soil physical properties; and (3) determine the effects of rainfall on soil moisture accretion and depletion.

Results of the Study

BMC Site

Irrigation treatments were applied to the experimental trees that flowered and fruited from November 1999 to February 2000. The water treatments were based on the following plan:

BB – irrigation to field capacity of all experimental trees at bud break; first irrigation application

FB – irrigation to field capacity of all FB (budbreak and full bloom) trees; second irrigation application

EF- irrigation to field capacity of all budbreak, full bloom and end of fruit drop trees; third irrigation application

BH – irrigation to field capacity of all budbreak, full bloom, end of fruit drop and before harvest trees; fourth irrigation application

AH – no irrigation at any phenological stage (control)

On 14 days from induction, almost all of the irrigated trees (BB, FB, EF, BH) have flowered compared to the control (AH). On 62 days after induction, the BB and FB trees were in fruit set while the AH trees were not. However, the destruction of flowers and fruit set by rain in January 2000 greatly affected the effects of irrigation treatments. Not even the second flower induction attempt restored the initial observations. However, after the second induction, the irrigated trees showed better flowering and fruit set. No significant differences were found in the physical properties (length, width, thickness, and weight) of the fruits among the treated trees and between those irrigated and control trees. This result however is inclusive, since the entire experiment was affected by rainfall. The favorable indications on the treatment trees were not sustained. The results of the sensory evaluation tests on the fruit pulp quality also indicate no significant differences for the treatment and control trees.

NMRDC Site

Flower induction and soil fertilization activities commenced only in March 2000 on 15 experimental trees. All the trees flowered and fruited. Irrigation treatments following the BMC plan were applied from April to June 2000. The specific irrigation treatments were coded:

BB – irrigation of all trees at bud break; first irrigation application

FB – irrigation of all bud break and full bloom trees; second irrigation

FD – irrigation of all bud break; full bloom and fruit development trees; third irrigation

SM – irrigation of all bud break, full bloom, fruit development and start of maturation trees; fourth irrigation

To – control, no irrigation

The crop was harvested on staggered basis on the second and third weeks of July.

No significant differences were observed as indicated by the computed and tabulated F-values for panicle yield, fruit weight, length, width and thickness. Lack of conclusive results on the importance of irrigation is due to the availability of soil moisture at NMRDC during the conduct of the experiments.

Bibliography:
Franco, Danielito T., Rodulfo, Victor A. Jr., and Rossana C. Amongo. Optimized irrigation and water management in mango. Institute of Agricultural Engineering, College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology, and Postharvest Research and Training Center, University of the Philippines Los Baños

For details of the study, please contact:

Dr. Danielito T. Franco
Irrigation
Professor
Institute of Agricultural Engineering
College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology
UP Los Baños, College, Laguna
Tel. No. (049) 536-2387