IMPORTANCE MANDARIN ORANGES: in Meghalaya

Sikkim Mandarin

Khasi Mandarin

Citrus world trade was already important during the second half of the nineteenth century and has grown tremendously later on in size, number of varieties and countries of production. The main citrus producing countries in the world are China, Brazil, the Mediterranean countries and United States of America. The world total production of citrus is about 11763628 tonnes during 2010 . The area and production of citrus in India is 987.461 thousand hectare and 9,637.813 thousand tonnes respectively. The leading citrus producing states of India are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Assam.

The total production of mandarin oranges in the world was 21311892 tonnes during 2010 , while in India, it was about 1633.95 tonnes. The average productivity of mandarin oranges in India is 6.7 tonnes per hectare . The North-eastern states of India, viz. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura is considered to be the natural home of many citrus species  and it is considered as a reservoir of various citrus species including mandarin orange . Various forms have been found growing wild in Garo Hills of Meghalaya and Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh . Among the north eastern states of India, Assam recorded highest production and productivity of mandarin orange (i.e. 93. 39 tonnes and 11 t/ha respectively) from an area of 8.5 thousand hectares . On the other hand, Meghalaya produced 3.3 tonnes from an area of 8.0 thousand hectare and the productivity was only 4.2 t/ha . Although agro-climatic conditions prevailing in Meghalaya is conducive for cultivation of mandarin oranges but the total production and productivity is relatively low.