CHAPTER V. 

 PLANTING OF TREES AND I&TEK-CROPS. 



After choosing a suitable site for orange trees the ground should be 

 prepared for them in their permanent place. It is desirable to have the 

 whoie plot level as far as possible, but a fall of three inches in a hundred 

 feet may be allowed for the running of irrigation water'. If the land is too 

 rolling, it would be a mistake to level the laud in one piece, for in that case 

 good surface soil from the hiwher parts would be removed and the lower un- 

 weathered soil would be exposed in which trees will not thrive. In such cases 

 it is desirable to have terraces at suitable distances. The whole ground must 

 be ploughed several times and all deep rooted weeds such as lavala, hariili 

 and kunda must be carefully removed. It is desirable to sow sann-hemp seed 

 in June and plough it in after six weeks, at flowsring time, for green manur- 

 ing. The soil must in any case be thoroughly worked and mellow free 

 from all norts of weeds before the trees are put in. In the hot season, holes 

 three feet each way should be dug for planting trees. 



The distance at which the trees are planted varies with the nature of 

 the soil and climatic conditions. In the ''oona District, Santra trees should 

 bo planted at fifteen feet apart. In Khandesh District, eighteen feet dis- 

 tance is preferred With Mosambi trees the distance should be eighteen feet. 

 Pomeloes are planted at twenty feet apart. Kagdi Limbu trees ehould be 

 fifteen feei from oue another In an inferior soil the distance may be less 

 but in good and fertile soils the distance should not be less than that indi- 

 cated above. The hole should be filled with river soil, if available, otherwise 

 with good garden soil, and 100 Ibs. farm yard manure per hole. It is desir- 

 able to add some bone meal to each tree, say 5 Ibs., and if bone meal is not 

 available simple raw bones crushed in a rJiunam mill may be used. Trees 

 are generally planted at the commencement of the rains, or, if the rains are 

 heavy, as in the Koukan, they may be planted at the nd of A-ugust. Wh^n 

 planting, the hud should face the side from which the wind blows ; this 

 makes the tree even on all sides. Santra and Mosumbi plants should not be 

 mixed up in the same plot. 



After the planting of the trees the intervening space should be utilised 

 for some sab-cr p which will maet running expenses. In choosing a sub-crop 

 in an orange plantation, one should see that its requirements conform to 

 those of the main crop This is often neglected and the main crop 

 suffers. In Khandesh, for instance, the basrai variety of banana is frequent- 

 ly planted in an orange garden This variety, although it lasts for eight -en 

 months only, does permanent harm to the orange trees, for the banana trees 

 are planted at five feet apart, they are very d^arf (5 feet), they produce a 

 large number of suckers and they require heavy irrigations. Orange trees, 

 therefore, do not get sufficient light and receive too much water. This sort 

 of associatiou of two crops is very detrimental to the main crop, giving no 

 advantage to the other. In some places lucerne is grown aa an in; er crop 

 between orange trees. It is a dwarf crop, no doubt, but receives constant 

 irrigation tor about three years which very adversely affects the orange 

 trees. The papaya is an unsuitable crop among orange trees as it is too 

 shady. The inter crop for an ora-ige garden should, therefore, be a low one, 

 requiring as little water as possible It should last not more than six months 

 at the most Such crops are vegetables of all sorts, chillies, onions, gar Ho, 

 rozelle, or cape gooseberry. In some parts of Khandesh, the neylec.tum- 



