Manures and fertilizers may be applied in September – October, 45 cm away from the trunk upto
the leaf tip and incorporated.
Oval, Cricket Ball, Kirtibarti, Guthi, CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, PKM 1, PKM 2, PKM 3, PKM 4, PKM (Sa) 5 and Kalipatti.
8 x 8 m (156 plants / ha) for conventional planting. Adopt high density planting at 8 x
4 m (312 plants / ha) for high productivity
Grafted on Manilkhara hexandra (Pala) rootstock.
June – December
Dig pits of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m in size. Fill up with top soil mixed with 10 kg of FYM, 1 kg of
neem cake and 100 g. Plant the grafts in the center of the pit with ball of earth intact. The graft
joint must be atleast 15 cm above the ground level. Stake the plants properly to avoid bending
or damage to graft joint.
Irrigate copiously immediately after planting and on the third day and once in 10 days
afterwards till the graft establishes.
Manures and fertilizers may be applied in September – October, 45 cm away from the trunk upto
the leaf tip and incorporated.
Remove the rootstock sprouts, water shoots, criss-cross and lower branches.
Legumes and short duration vegetable crops may be raised as intercrop during prebearing stage.
Pests
Leaf webber Spray phosalone 35 EC 2 ml / lit.
Hairy caterpillars Spray Phosalone 35 EC 2 ml / lit of water
Bud worm Spray neem seed kernel extract 5 %.
Sooty mould
Boil 1 kg of maida or starch with 5 l of water, cool, dilute to 20 l (5 %) and spray on
leaves. Avoid spraying during cloudy weather
A mature fruit is dull brown in colour and the colour immediately below the skin when
scratched is of lighter shade, while in the immature fruits it is green. The mature fruits are
harvested by hand picking.
February – June and September – October. Ripen the fruits in air tight room by keeping a
beaker containing 5000 ppm Ethrel + 10 g NaOH pellets in an air tight chamber (5 ml Ethrel in
one lit of water is 5000 ppm). Alternatively, fruits can be exposed to ethylene gas at 100 – 200
ppm for 18 – 20 hrs to induce ripening.
20-25 t / ha / year.
Growing Districts: Dindigul, Coimbatore, Virudhunagar, Theni, Namakkal
Major Markets in Tamil Nadu: Dindigul, Coimbatore, Anna Fruit Market, Koyambedu,
Chennai
Preferred Varieties and hybrids: Cricket Ball, PKM 1, Kalipatti, PKM 4
Grade Specification: Based on size and shape, large, medium and small