Among all the varieties of mangoes in India, Alphonso mango is the most demanded variety due to its sweetness, richness, and flavor. It is also known as Hafoos, Hapuz, or Aapoos. Due to its large demand among consumers, many farmers across the country wish to cultivate this delicious fruit in their farms, however, there are only a few states which have the natural habitat to grow Alphonso.
These states include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. However, there is a district in Tamil Nadu where the cultivation of Alphonso mango has taken place. In and around the district of Dindigul, many farmers are not only cultivating a variety of mango but are also earning a great income. For the farmers of Tamil Nadu, the cultivation of Alphonso holds great importance as the fruit is high-yielding and can be quite rewarding.
Why Alphonso is Special for Tamil Nadu
The cultivation of Alphonso could be quite fruitful for the farmers. As the summers are approaching, demand for mangoes reaches its peak. But many farmers in southern India could not reap the benefits of Alphonso’s demand.
As mentioned above, this variety of mangoes is generally found in the eastern states of India and not in southern India. This is because the weather of the southern states is not considered suitable for the cultivation of the fruit.
Some of the farmers have analyzed the limitations so that they could also make some benefit out of alphonso mango production. The farmers in Dindigul have curated some new techniques to make Alphonso's cultivation a success.
How Dindigul is Cultivating Alphonso
Pest management is the most important thing to do Alphonso cultivation in such an area with weather limitations. Among many Dindigul farmers, Kurumpatti, who has worked towards cultivating Alphonso in the region himself agrees that Alphonso farming has been possible with the help of pest management along with water management. He says that 120 tonnes of Alphonso mangoes are produced from 80 acres almost every year from Dindigul district.
While another farmer S.T. Baskar says that it is important to take care of irrigation along with water management. A ground-level borewell has been constructed with a capacity of 3.5 lakh liters for systematic and better irrigation.
Drip irrigation has also been used in Alphonso cultivation in the region. The seedlings brought from Maharashtra were kept at a spacing of 15 feet, water was dripped into the roots. The farmers had used neem leaves as pesticides. The cultivation was done through zero-fertilizer organic technology.
