TRAINING AND PRUNING. The most popular systems of training are :

1. Head system. The vine is trained in the form of a dwarf bush. It is allowed to grow into an upright stem with the help of a support and the developing shoot is cut off at a height of 1 to 1.25 m in July. It is allowed to develop three to four lateral branches, each about 0.45 m long, arranged in the form of a vase or goblet. At the first dormant pruning in February, the lateral branches are shortened to spurs with one to two buds each. These spurs provide suitable arms for the framework during the succeeding summer. At the second dormant pruning, eight to ten arms, with one to two spurs on each arm, are retained for cropping in the third year. This system is cheap, but yields are poor. It is practiced in northern India on varieties which fruit on the first few buds of the cane.

2. Cane system. This system is suitable for training on a two-wire trellis. The trunk is headed back, as in the head system; four arms, two on each side of the trunk, are allowed to develop and are pruned to a 30-m length after a year. Fruit canes, each carrying 10 to 20 buds, develop on each arm which is tied to the trellis wire. A renewal spur is left on each arm just below the cane for the next year's crop.

3. Cordon system. After the vine has reached a height of 0.5 to 1 m, the stem is bent and is trained along the single-wire trellis. On each arm that develops from the trunk, short fruiting spurs, each carrying two to four buds, are allowed to remain at the time of pruning. The replacing spurs are also provided close to the base of the fruiting spurs.

4. Pergola system. In the pergola, arbour or bower system, the vine is allowed to develop into two or three branches, about 1 m from the ground. The branches are fastened to the horizontal wires of the pergola and allowed to grow and spread on the roof. The branches that grow on the arms are pruned each year according to the mode of bearing of the variety planted.

Pruning is usually done in northern India once a year in spring before the new growth starts. In Peninsular India, grapevine is pruned twice a year, once in summer and again in October, the exact period being decided by the distribution of rainfall.

Sometimes, the girdling or ringing of a caneis carried out to hasten maturity and to improve the size and quality of berries.

IRRIGATION.   The grapevine should be regularly irrigated. It is necessary to regulate the water-supply carefully both when the vine is in flower and when the bunches are ripening. Too wet a soil during those periods is not desirable.

MANURING.   In addition to the farmyard manure (25 to 30 kg), a dose supplying 0.07 to 0.09 kg of N, 0.54 to 0.57 kg of P and 0.135 to 0.18 kg of K per vine at pruning is recommended. Green-manuring may be done whenever feasible.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL GRAPE-GROWING.   (1) The cuttings for planting should be selected from one-year-old dormant wood from healthy bearing vines.
(2) Pruning of the vines should be regulated to suit the bearing habit of each variety. The timing of pruning should be so regulated as to avoid the vines coming into blossom when the days are characterized by dewfall.
(3) A portion of the berries at the tip of each bunch may be thinned to ensure more effective spraying against diseases.

HARVESTING AND MARKETING.   The fruit is ready for picking after the berries near the tip have changed colour and have become sweet. The picked fruit should not be exposed to the sun and, if it is to be sent to a distant market, it should be packed in sawdust. Yields vary largely, depending upon the variety, the locality and upon a host of other factors. Yields even up to 40,000 kg per hectare have been obtained, though 15,000 kg may be considered an average. A single vine at Coimbatore has been known to yield more than 800 bunches in a single season.

Guava. (Psidium guajava L.).   The total area under guava in the country is about 30,000 hectares, of which Uttar Pradesh has the largest area (9,840 hectares), followed closely by Bihar (4,800 hectares). It is a very hardy tree, withstanding heat and prolonged droughts, but is susceptible to frost. A cool winter induces heavy fruiting. It grows in all types of soils having pH ranging from 4.5 to 8.2. Its fruit is rich in vitamin C (35 to 100 mg per 100 g) content.

VARIETIES.   'Lucknow-49', 'Allahabad Safeda' and 'Seedless' are white-fleshed varieties. Several types having pink flesh and white flesh with bright red skin are also known.

PROPAGATION AND PLANTING.   Guava is propagated through seed, and also vegetatively. Inarching, layering and air-layering are commonly practiced. Propagation through root suckers, root cuttings and budding is sometimes successful. Propagation is generally done during the rainy season. The new plants are ready to be set out after a year. The usual distance for planting is 5.5 to 6 metres.

CULTURE.   The growing of a green-manure crop during the rainy season, and clean cultivation during the rest of the year are recommended. One or two irrigations between the end of the monsoon and the harvesting (winter) are given in northern India. In southern India irrigation throughout the year is necessary. In addition to bulky organic manures, the use of 45 to 60 kg of N, 77.5 kg to 90 kg of P and 100 kg to 110 kg of K per hectare is recommended.

PRUNING.   Young trees require pruning several times a year to prevent the formation of long and slender branches. As the fruit is borne on new growth, heavy pruning of the bearing trees increases fruiting. All flowers should be removed until the framework becomes strong enough.

HARVESTING.   Fruits must be plucked as they ripen. Plucking extends over several weeks. For long-distance marketing, it is necessary to harvest the fruit somewhat earlier. Yields of 22,000 kg per hectare have been reported.

Papaya. (Carica papaya L.).   Papaya occupies a very small area, yet its cultivation is widespread in the country. It grows well almost everywhere, except at altitudes higher than 1,500 metres. It cannot tolerate low temperatures. A dry warm climate is necessary. Strong winds are highly detrimental to the trees as the hollow stems break easily. Even though the tree is adapted to a wide range of soils, it grows best in the loamy soil. Deep clayey soils that are prone to water-logging should be avoided. In heavy-rainfall areas, a prolonged stagnation of water near its stem is highly injurious.

VARIETIES.   'Washington', 'Honey Dew' (Madhubindu), 'Coorg Honey Dew', 'Singapore' and 'Ceylon' are important varieties. C.O.I., an improved strain of the Ranchi type has been evolved at Coimbatore. The varieties do not remain pure under the existing state of cultivation and give rise to varieties, both in tree and fruit characteristics.

SEX VARIATION.   The papaya plant is normally unisexual. Some plants bear male flowers and some female. Occasionally, a plant with hermaphrodite flowers (having both male and female organs) may occur. The proportion of plants with male, female and hermaphrodite flowers varies with the variety. The proportion of fruit-bearing female plants of any variety varies from 40 to 60 per cent. The plants of 'Coorg Honey Dew' are either female or hermaphrodite and, hence, every plant yields fruits.

PROPAGATION AND PLANTING.   Papaya is propagated through seeds. About 100 to 200 grammes of seed is required for an acre of plantation. Seeds obtained from mature large fruits, borne on female plants, are usually the best. The best time for raising seedlings is the monsoon period. The seedlings are ready for transplanting in four to six weeks, when they are 20 to 30 cm tall. They are lifted with a ball of earth around the roots; most of their leaves are clipped off, and they are planted in small holes made in the field 2.5 to 4 metres apart. Four seedlings may be planted in each hole about one-third metre apart from one another. After the plants have flowered, all male plants, except a few required for fertilizing the female plants, are pulled out. One male tree for every 10 to 20 female trees is sufficient. Transplanting is best done in the monsoon. The practice of planting four seedlings in one hole is not required for varieties, e.g. 'Coorg Honey Dew', which do not produce any male plants.

CULTURE.   Papaya plants are irrigated once in every 10 to 12 days in winter and six to eight days in summer. To avoid stagnation of water near the trunks, the basin may be made to slope away from it. Nine kg of farmyard manure per pit is applied at the time of planting, followed by 35 to 45 kg of it every six months, once at the beginning of the monsoon and again in winter. A fertilizer mixture to supply 25 to 50 kg of N, 50 to 100 kg of P and 50 to 100 kg of K per hectare may be given in two equal doses every six months. The removal of weeds and a light or shallow ploughing or harrowing once or twice a year are necessary. Low-growing vegetables of short duration may be taken as intercrops. An occasional thinning of fruits is necessary to prevent overcrowding. Papaya may itself be grown as a 'filler' or in plantation of other crops where spacing is wide enough.

HARVESTING AND MARKETING.   Papaya flowers in about four months after planting and fruits are ready for harvesting in another six months. Except during winter, the trees continue to flower and fruit all the time. Fruits are picked when they are still hard and green, but show a distinct change in the colour of the rind. Yield varies from 30 to 150 fruits per tree. The packing of fruits in baskets in several layers should be avoided. A soft padding, such as of wood-shavings, wool or straw is recommended.