Requirement of major nutrients for 'Alphonso' mango (Mangifera indica)

A field experiment was conducted from 1977 to 1991 to determine the nutriti onal requirements of 'Alphonso' mango (Mangifera indica L.) under rainfed c onditions employing second order rotatable design. The results indicated li ttle influence of the continuous application of major nutrients on tree gro wth and fruit quality. About 100 g N, 170 g P2O5 and 80 g K2O/tree/year of tree age from 3rd to 10th orchard years and continuation of the 10th year d ose in subsequent years was found to be optimum for maximising the fruit yi eld. Since it was uneconomical to apply such high doses of phosphorus, othe r approaches were employed for the interpretation of the results. Second or der equations involving preceding year's fruit yield in addition to the nut ritional effects were found useful to suggest precise nutrient recommendati ons for trees of different ages. Game theory analysis suggested nutrient re commendations for various categories of farmers based on the risk taking ca pacity. A nutrient dose comprising of 100 g N and 100 g K2O/tree/year of tr ee age from 3rd and 10th orchard years and continuation of the 10th year do se thereafter was found to give maximum per cent returns over investment fo r all categories of farmers, irrespective of their risk taking abilities.