Plantation of mango in lower to mid hills of North West Himalaya for enhancing the farmers’ income

Generally mango is grown only in plain areas of Uttarakhand, hilly area of the state was known for the production of temperate fruits. But in the recent past, mango cultivation has gained momentum in lower hills. Under such circumstances the concept of high density plantation has become extremely significant to increase fruit yield and productivity in small as well as scattered land. KVK Uttarkashi introduced the intervention of high density plantation of Amrapali variety of mango in lower to mid hills of district Uttarkashi. The dwarf variety of mango Amrapali was planted in 3 x 3 m spacing at farmer's field. The plantation with normal density plantation fetches net return of Rs. 4896/Nali, whereas, plantation with high density obtained Rs. 10654/Nali. The net return per nail in HDP in lower hills is more than double the traditional method and this profit may be fetched four years earlier. The high net return is due to high density plantation and late season harvesting (off season) in lower hills.