Sweet Orange Status In Ramechhap, Nepal

Status of Sweet Orange Farming in Ramechhap (Briefing to MOAC, AEC, Chinese and Japanese Delegates) (November 15, 2009) 1. Farming ecological belt : 800-1600 m asl -/fd]5fk, cf]v|]gL, ;'sfhf]/, en'jfhf]/, ;fn', ;'gf/kfgL, lxdu+uf, /fdk'/, b]p/fnL, uf]7ufpF, 89'jf, km'nf;L, dfsb'd, lxn]b]jL, lbldkf]v/L, a]yfg, nvgk'/ !& uf=lj=;=_

2. Orange varieties: not identified, round, rough to fine skin at maturity 3. Scion mother plant orchard hygiene: not specified 4. Rootstock mother plant orchard hygiene: not specified 5. Trifoliate seed source : 3 farmers produce 3 kgs, remaining 10-20 kgs from Kirtipur 6. Sapling plant height at graft: 6” 7. Rootstock used: trifoliate 20%, sour orange (kali jyamir) 60 %, seti jyamir 20 % 8. Age of grafted sapling at planting time: 6 months to 18 months 9. Planting: July 10. Orchard layout: 15 plants/500 sq m (1-3 ft deep), no terracing 11. Orchard size: 15-300 plants/orchard hh, 100-300 plants on large orchards 12. Pruning and training: opening to air and light, dead or died branches, yellowed 13. Mulching below crown: moisture conservation during April, May, June; save from splash rain in monsoon, foot rot control 14. Flowering time: February 15. Maturity time: December-January 16. Picking method: twisting and use of cutting knife, use bamboo ladder, bamboo bucket 17. Fruit: 5-6 / kg, 150-200 g/fruit; brix at maturity 10-12.5, many viable and dead seeds 18. Fresh consumption: skin tight to open by fingers, needs knife, eat 7 days later 19. Squash making: small fruits, for unattractive skin colored ones 20. Local markets: Ramechhap, Manthali, Banepa, Kalimati, Janakpur, Birgunj, Biratnagar 21. Average age of orchard: 20-30 years, new orchards every year 22. Number of sapling nurseries: 13 23. Total sapling produced per year: 40,000 plants 24. Total bearing plants: 28619 Junar, 5288 mandarin, 2266 lime (2005 data) : 25. Total nonbearing plants: 35254 Junar, 11169 Mandarin, 8444 lime 26. Farmers involved in orchards: 2130 Junar farmers, 431 Suntala & 714 Kagati farmers 27. Total area cultivated: productive 120 ha, rejuvenable 150 ha 28. Yearly production: 9000-12000 mt estimated 29. Management problem: lack of family and social manpower, affected by red scale, foot rot, powdery mildew, handling and transport, no feed back from consumers in KTM, sell immature and green fruits, 30. No investment and business plan 31. Future: Contract farming with strict standards of fruit quality and hygiene, handling, transport