Good care can ensure a handsome yield of custard apple, chikoo, guava, papaya, sweet lime, orange, and banana
India has a range of fruit trees — both indigenous varieties and fruits from distant lands that thrive on our soil. Fruits like apple, peach, plum and pears need the cool climate of higher altitudes, while mango, guava and chikoo will fruit only in the heat of the plains. Choose fruits that will grow in your region but also experiment with new varieties.
The multiple layers of a diverse kitchen garden mimic the ways of natural growth, with each tree competing for sunlight. Mid-level fruit trees are the layer just below tall fruit trees and thrive in this environment.
All fruit trees can be successively grown from seed or sourced from a nursery. Most mid-level trees bear fruit by the second or third year, but the harvest depends on the care it receives.
Plant: Choose a sunny spot, and if you are planting a variety of trees, leave a minimum distance of eight feet between each to ensure adequate sunlight. Prepare a pit deep enough to accommodate the root ball: two feet wide with a depth of three feet. Add a mix of neemcake, cowdung, dried leaves and rich loamy soil. Plant, cover with soil and water, leaving a slight depression to hold moisture in the dry months. Mulch with a layer of leaves.
Use the same guidelines to plant fruit trees on terraces using large troughs or grow bags with well-drained loamy soil. The base of each pot should have a 6-inch layer of crushed brick and stones for drainage.
Care: Consistent irrigation is needed after planting. Feed the young plants at the onset of monsoons and again post monsoons with panchgavya; when they are older, fertilise as the first buds appear. Spray periodically with a dilute neem solution. All fruit trees benefit from pruning to encourage growth and flowering. Intercrop with other fruit trees, and grow cauliflower and pineapple below; add leguminous plants to fix nitrogen in the soil.
Custard apple: There are over 150 varieties of the genus annonaceae — from the sweet custard apple to the rarer soursop, each rich in nutrients and medicinal properties. Select a few of the fruit trees of your choice. Custard apple thrives on slightly sloping land, as it needs good drainage. If your soil is excessively wet, plant the trees on a raised mound. By the third summer, flowers appear, and fruits are ready for harvest between August and November.
Chikoo: A native of South America, there are many varieties of chikoos in each State, from Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Baramasi’ to Maharashtra’s ‘cricketball’, each with its own distinct flavour and appearance. Choose a few regional favourites to get two or three varieties of fruit. Chikoos have two fruiting seasons and can yield an average of 100 kilograms per tree.
Guava: The psidium guajava, another native of South America, can have white, pink or cream flesh inside a thin edible skin. It can be propagated by seed in a nursery or by grafting and air-layering. Periodic fertilising and spraying with neem solution is the only requirement for this low-maintenance tree.
Papaya: As the papaya tree does not produce male and female flowers on the same tree, get a mix of both from the nursery. Trim the top of the tree once it is about a year old to encourage branching at the top. The fruit can be eaten as a vegetable and also as a fruit at different stages.
Mosambi: This sweet citrus fruit must be planted well past the monsoons when the soil is well-drained. Mosambi seedlings are best transplanted when they are about two years old. Regular trimming is required to encourage new growth and the first buds which appear in its third year should be nipped off for better fruits.
Orange: Oranges grow best in humid tropical regions and will thrive in a bio-diverse kitchen garden. The soil should be well aerated and rich in organic matter. Spray with dilute neem solution once a month and nourish the roots periodically with panchgavya. Orange trees do exceptionally well in terrace gardens and can yield record harvests.
Bananas: There are many varieties of banana, from the common green banana to the rare hill varieties. The tree has a relatively short life span and matures in 90 days to produce fruit. It dies after the harvest, but springs back to life from the underground rhizome. At this stage, it must be carefully nurtured for a month with manure and panchagavya.
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