Mulching in Aonla

Aonla or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) is indigenous to Indian sub-continent, belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. Owing to hardy nature, suitability to various wastelands, high productivity, nutritive and therapeutic values,aonla has become an important fruit. The climate ranging from hot tropical plains to humid sub-tropical mid-elevation hills is suitable for its cultivation. It is successfully raised in arid, semi-arid, coastal and warm temperate conditions and grows well in saline, alkaline and degraded areas. The main objective of mulching is to prevent loss of water by evaporation, prevention of soil erosion, weed control etc. Mulching has been found to be an effective method for increasing the yield of tropical fruit crops. Keeping in view the immense importance of mulching of aonla in rainfed areas for its successful cultivation, the book is based on investigation, carried out to assess the effect of mulching materials on tree growth, yield and fruit quality of aonla cv. NA-7 under rainfed conditions.