THE ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH OF YOUNG MANGO TREES IN ON-FARM HILLSIDE TRIALS IN TRINIDAD, W.I.
On-farm hillside trials using mango have been established with five farmers on degraded land in the Maracas/St.
Joseph Watershed in Trinidad to encourage them to adopt tree-crop based production systems for greater sustainability.
Young trees of ‘Graham’ and ‘Starch’ cultivars were planted from September, 1997 on plots of 22 to 30° slope, at spacings of 8.3 or 16.3 m × 8.3 m in pure stands or intercropped with Spondias dulcis and short-term crops.
Tree survival ranged from 81 to 100%. All plots were attacked by Atta sp. and nutritional deficiencies appeared on two farms.
Plant height, canopy depth, canopy width, stem girth and leaf area were initially low, but by 16 to 18 months after establishment, the trees had attained good growth.
Differences among farms and between cultivars for most parameters were not significant by February 1999, due apparently to better tree care in mixed crop systems with full-time attention.
Trees on the lower portion of some slopes performed better than those on the upper portion.
Greater support for the farmers with low-cost nutrient and pest control inputs is recommended.
Roberts-Nkrumah, Laura B. (2000). THE ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH OF YOUNG MANGO TREES IN ON-FARM HILLSIDE TRIALS IN TRINIDAD, W.I.. Acta Hortic. 509, 705-712
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2000.509.81
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2000.509.81
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2000.509.81
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2000.509.81
canopy depth, canopy width, crop management, leaf area, pests, plant height, stem girth, survival, mango