Pre-harvest Management Strategies for Post-harvest Disease Control in Mango

Abstract

Australia-Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkage Program collaboration (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013) is developing integrated crop management practices to enhance value chain outcomes for the mango industry in Pakistan and Australia. One component involves scaling up orchard management strategies which optimise nutrition, enhance constitutive resistance of mango fruit and reduce field disease inoculum as key underpinning the reduction of postharvest disease losses. The strategies include optimal tree nutrition, tree pruning and inoculum reduction and strategic use of field sprays with fungicides. This is coupled with a longer-term improvement of nursery stock, screening for cultivar resistance and selection of clean planting material as means of reducing stem end rot, anthracnose and (inAustralia) dendritic spot. The research outcomes of crop management research from 2005 to 2010 are being demonstrated at different grower orchards in 25 integrated research block sites in both the Punjab and Sindh mango growing areas of Pakistan. The blocks have been established in the form of village or district clusters for easy management and to serve as demonstration blocks to adjacent or neighbouring farms. Pre harvest management protocols will be validated in the research blocks to finetune and assess their agronomic and disease reduction potential, and to foster grower ready adoption. The disease reduction risk and shelf-life potential of fruit from the blocks will be further tested in domestic and export market situations.