Everybody loves mangoes! This delicious tropical Asian stone fruit is one of the world’s most popular and is widely cultivated. There are many species of the genus Mangifera that produce several hundred varieties and cultivars of mango fruit throughout the world. Mangoes vary widely in skin colour, shape, size, and taste. The fruit’s flesh colour varies from pale yellow to gold, orange and even red depending upon what cultivar it originates from. Mango trees grow quite large and some varieties can reach heights of up to 40 metres tall! The trees have very long life spans, and some specimens are on record as continuing to bear fruit at 300 years of age!
Mangoes are cultivated in many tropical countries and have been around for thousands of years. They are considered to be one of the easiest fruits to grow and can make you a tidy profit if you have the necessary space, and a tropical, or warm, frost-free subtropical climate. All you really need is enough land to support an orchard of ten to twenty of these big trees, and a couple of large farm sheds to store equipment, and the produce in as it’s sorted to go to the market!
Commercial mango farming is a very steady business that has been traditionally pursued by rural people, but it’s easy to get into even if you are a beginner! Australia is a great place to grow these delicious fruits depending on your area, and since there is always a demand it’s a good start up opportunity that doesn’t require much capital if you already have the land.
Let’s take a look at how you can grow mangoes for fun and profit:
Soil – Preparing the soil is an important step for growing mango trees. First do the initial ploughing, then follow with cross ploughing. A level area of land is best, but there must be proper drainage so water doesn’t gather and stagnate in the field. Deep soil without a hard pan above 3 metres is required for mango cultivation. The soil’s pH should be less than 8.5%. Mangos won’t grow in salty soil. The soil should be augmented with organic fertilizers, and tilled with straw and cattle manure.
Watering – Mango trees are quite hardy and don’t require much maintenance, but they do need an ample supply of water. They grow in wet or dry climates, but they ideally enjoy a low humidity and dry atmosphere along with ample rainfall, which can be supplemented with a sprinkler system in arid regions.
Spacing – Since mangos grow large and have a wide canopy, you should plan ahead and plant them with plenty of room to grow in, with at least 10 metres between trunks. That may sound like a lot, but in the long run, you will be glad you did as your mango trees grow into splendid giants that can provide you with ample fruit for years to come!
Care – Mangoes thrive on benign neglect, just watch them grow!
Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Agriculture and Food division has a very successful mango breeding program, so check with them as a source of cultivars to get you started. Enjoy your mangoes, yum!
Be First to Comment