Growing mango
Mangifera indica · also called aamMango is a large evergreen fruit tree of the warm plains and coasts, raised from grafted plants. It needs frost-free winters and dry weather at flowering, so it does not suit the Kashmir valley or Ladakh.
Sub-tropical foothills: Jammu, Kangra, Dehradun
At a glance
Mango in the Sub-tropical foothills
Summer: each variety ripens in its own fortnight, from late June (Bombay Green) to early August (Chausa)1
Fruit is ready about 100 to 150 days after flowering, by variety. A grafted tree starts bearing in its third to fifth year and goes on for decades.
No published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Too late this season
The window here was September to early October. The next one opens in February.
- Transplant
- Harvest
- Today
- Not suited here
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-tropical foothills | September to early OctoberFebruary to April | MayLate JuneFirst half of JulySecond half of JulyFirst half of August | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Not suited here | |||
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| North-west plains | August to SeptemberFebruary to March | First week of JulySecond week of JulyEnd of July | ||
| Gangetic plains | July to AugustFebruary to March | Late May to August | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | June to August, in the monsoon | June to August | ||
| Arid west | July to AugustFebruary to March | May to July | ||
| Central plateau | July to AugustFebruary to March | May to July | ||
| Deccan plateau | July to AugustFebruary to March | April to June | ||
| South interior | July to December | March to June | ||
| West coast | July to AugustFebruary to March | March to May | ||
| East coast | July to December | March to June | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Pit filling, before planting
Well-rotted FYM mixed with garden soil
20 to 25 kg per pit
First and second year
FYM
5 kg per tree a year
Apply in October with the last irrigation
Third year
FYM
10 kg per tree
Apply in October with the last irrigation
Fourth to eleventh year
FYM
15 kg per tree in the fourth year, adding 5 kg a year to 50 kg per tree in the eleventh year
Apply in October with the last irrigation
Twelfth to fourteenth year
FYM
60, 70 and 80 kg per tree
Apply in October with the last irrigation
Fifteenth year onwards
FYM
100 kg per tree a year
Apply in October with the last irrigation
Day 0
Sow
Day 100 to 150
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Well-rotted FYM mixed with garden soil
20 to 25 kg per pit · Pit filling, before planting
FYM
5 kg per tree a year · Apply in October with the last irrigation · First and second year
FYM
10 kg per tree · Apply in October with the last irrigation · Third year
FYM
15 kg per tree in the fourth year, adding 5 kg a year to 50 kg per tree in the eleventh year · Apply in October with the last irrigation · Fourth to eleventh year
FYM
60, 70 and 80 kg per tree · Apply in October with the last irrigation · Twelfth to fourteenth year
FYM1
100 kg per tree a year · Apply in October with the last irrigation · Fifteenth year onwards
Day 0
Sow
Day 100 to 150
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Water every 10 to 15 days, more at fruit set and fruit development.1
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1
5.5 to 7.5
Grows on many soils, and grows well on deep, well-drained sandy loam. Avoid heavy black cotton soil and saline or alkaline land.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Sub-tropical foothills, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Full sun. Mango is a large tree that fruits on the outside of a sunny, open canopy.
Temperature1,3
Grows best at 24 to 27 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the Sub-tropical foothills aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering1
Water right after planting if it does not rain. Young trees need watering for the first 2 to 3 years, every 3 to 4 days in summer down to once a fortnight in winter, by soil and weather. Bearing trees give more fruit when watered every 10 to 15 days while the fruit develops. Do not water bearing trees at flowering: holding water back then brings more flowers, while watering pushes leafy growth. Avoid heavy watering and standing water in the basins of young trees.
Weeding1
Keep young orchards completely free of weeds, with at least one shallow cultivation every three months. In bearing orchards, cultivate shallowly at the start of the monsoon and clean again after it. Vegetables such as onion, tomato, radish, carrot, cowpea, cluster bean, French bean, okra, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, colocasia, turmeric, methi and palak can be grown between the trees, and phalsa or strawberry for the first 4 to 5 years.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pit filling, before planting | Well-rotted FYM mixed with garden soil | 20 to 25 kg per pit | |
| First and second year | FYM | 5 kg per tree a year | Apply in October with the last irrigation |
| Third year | FYM | 10 kg per tree | Apply in October with the last irrigation |
| Fourth to eleventh year | FYM | 15 kg per tree in the fourth year, adding 5 kg a year to 50 kg per tree in the eleventh year | Apply in October with the last irrigation |
| Twelfth to fourteenth year | FYM | 60, 70 and 80 kg per tree | Apply in October with the last irrigation |
| Fifteenth year onwards | FYM | 100 kg per tree a year | Apply in October with the last irrigation |
Varieties and yield
40 to 100 kg a tree
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Bombay Green (Malda)
One of the earliest in north India, picked by the end of June. Medium fruit with firm, fibreless deep yellow flesh.
Dashehari
Mid season, ripens in the first half of July. The most popular variety in north India; keeps well.
Langra
Mid season, ripens in the second half of July. Firm, fibreless, strongly flavoured flesh; tends to bear in alternate years.
Samar Bahisht Chausa
Late, ripens in the first fortnight of August. Large, sweet fruit, but a shy bearer.
Jammu Mango (Selection-5)
A sucking-type selection released by SKUAST-Jammu for the rainfed kandi areas. Tolerates drought at fruit set, is ready for pickle in May and is moderately resistant to malformation.
Pusa Arunima, Pusa Surya, Pusa Pratibha, Pusa Shreshth, Pusa Peetamber and Pusa Lalima
Other promising cultivars listed by SKUAST-Jammu.
Ambika, Arunika, Pant Sinduri and Pant Chandra
Other promising cultivars listed by SKUAST-Jammu.
Good neighbours1
Grows well with
Pests and diseases1
Organic and cultural controls only.
Mango hopper
Signs
Active from February to May. Nymphs and adults suck sap from tender leaves, shoots and flower panicles, so fewer fruit set. Their honeydew grows black sooty mould on the leaves.
What to do
- Prune crowded and interlocking branches so air and sunlight get through
Prevention
- Do not plant too close
- Avoid waterlogging
Mango mealy bug
Signs
Nymphs and females suck sap from young shoots and panicles; fewer fruit set and many stay small or drop.
What to do
- Prune and burn affected parts early in the attack
- Turn the orchard soil in June and July so the summer heat kills the egg masses
Prevention
- In December, fasten a 30 cm wide polythene band around the trunk about half a metre above the ground and grease its edges so the nymphs cannot climb
Mango shoot borer
Signs
Larvae bore down into young shoots from the tip; the shoots droop and the leaves dry and turn black.
What to do
- Cut out all dried shoots and destroy them
Bark eating caterpillar
Signs
Ribbon-like webbing mixed with droppings and wood chips on the trunk and branches, where the larvae feed on the bark. Trees lose vigour and may slowly die.
What to do
- Keep the orchard clean
- Remove the silken webbing
- Seal the larval holes with mud plaster
Mango leaf webber
Signs
An emerging, serious pest in the Jammu region: larvae web leaves together, from July to December.
What to do
- Cut out and destroy webbed leaf bunches
Fruit fly
Signs
Maggots in ripening fruit; rainfed orchards suffer most. The flies also attack guava, citrus, papaya, peach, plum and other fruit.
What to do
- After harvest, collect and destroy infested and fallen fruit
- Plough the orchard deeply right after harvest so birds and heat destroy the pupae
- Use methyl eugenol traps to watch and catch the flies
- Pick a little early and dip the fruit in 5 percent salt water for an hour, or in hot water at 48°C for an hour
Powdery mildew
Signs
White to grey powder on young leaves and flower panicles; panicles wither early and set little or no fruit.
Anthracnose
Signs
Round or irregular brown spots on leaves and young shoots, cracking in the centre; tiny black dots on panicles and sunken spots on fruit. Bad attacks kill shoots.
What to do
- Prune out diseased and dead shoots in December and January
Twig die back and leaf blight
Signs
Small yellow spots turning brown on leaves and twigs, spreading over the leaf; dark brown patches on young and ripening fruit.
What to do
- Cut diseased twigs 15 cm below the infection and burn them
Red rust
Signs
Rusty red, round spots, mostly on old leaves.
Prevention
- Do not plant too close
Bacterial canker
Signs
Tiny dark green, water-soaked patches on leaves and fruit that later become raised. It spreads fast in the rains, worst in July and August.
Mango malformation
Signs
On young plants, buds swell into bunches of short shoots like a witch's broom. On flowering trees, panicles become short, thick and clustered, with mostly male flowers.
What to do
- Remove the flower buds once as they burst
- After fruit set in May, cut out malformed twigs with about 15 cm of healthy wood
Leaf scorch
Signs
Old leaves scorch at the tips and edges and drop, and the tree loses vigour. Too much chloride in the soil or water is the cause.
What to do
- Collect and destroy the scorched leaves
Prevention
- Do not irrigate with brackish water
Black tip
Signs
A sunken yellowish spot at the tip of the fruit that grows, turns brown and then black. Caused by smoke and gases from brick kilns; Dashehari is very prone.
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1
Mango is grown from grafted plants, because seedlings vary. Stones are saved only to raise rootstocks: take them from ripe fruit of seedling trees.
Mango stones lose viability quickly, so do not store them: sow soon after taking them out of the fruit, and keep only stones that sink in water.
After the last picking1
Mango is a perennial, so nothing is cleared after harvest. Collect and destroy fallen fruit, plough the orchard after harvest, and take out dead and diseased twigs in October and November.
Collect fallen and damaged fruit and destroy it, which cuts fruit fly. Compost healthy leaves and prunings; burn diseased twigs rather than leaving them in the orchard.
Rotation
When an old orchard is removed, grow a few seasons of legumes, green manure or vegetables before planting fruit trees again.
Sources
Where this comes from
Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.
These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.
- Package of practices for fruit crops 2020 (mango chapter)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Package of practices for sub-tropical and temperate fruits (planting time)SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- IPM package of practices for mango (for producing quality fruits for export)Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of India (reviewed by ICAR-CISH Lucknow)Read the source
- Mango (horticulture: fruits)TNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
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