Mulberry cultivation

Introduction

Mulberries have been cultivated since ancient times. The black mulberry (Morus nigra) is native to Iran and can be exceptionally long-lived, bearing fruit for centuries. The white mulberry (M. alba) was the species used in the silk trade to feed silkworms. Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, comprises 10–16 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions

The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. Mulberries are swift-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing and rarely exceed 10–15 m (33–49 ft) tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, often lobed, more often lobed on juvenile shoots than on mature trees, and serrated on the margin.

The trees can be monoecious or dioecious

The mulberry fruit is a multiple fruit, 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) long. Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow. In most species, the fruits turn pink and then red while ripening, then dark purple or black, and have a sweet flavor when fully ripe. The fruits of the white-fruitedcultivar are white when ripe; the fruit in this cultivar is also sweet but has a very mild flavor compared with the darker variety.

Planning the crop

 Mulberries are particularly tough and unfussy. Only in really cold districts will they fail to thrive. They can be grown either as bushes or standard trees. Some varieties of the latter eventually achieve a height of 10m or more, which is too big for most modern gardens. Varieties that reach half that size are available.

Varieties- The two species are the black mulberry, which produces fine dark fruit, and the white mulberry, with pale fruit that is relatively tasteless. There are some excellent culinary varieties: Hicks Ever bearing; Hicks Fancy; Johnson; Downing; Stubbs, best suited to warm districts; Black English, not exceeding 5 m; and the very long fruiting Black Persian.

Growing Cultivation

Mulberries can be grown from seed, and this is often advised as seedling-grown trees are generally of better shape and health, but they are most often planted from large cuttings which root readily. The mulberry plants which are allowed to grow tall with a crown height of 5–6 feet from ground level and a stem girth of 4–5 inches or more is calledtree mulberry. They are specially raised with the help of well-grown saplings 8–10 months old of any of the varieties recommended for rain-fed areas like S-13 (for red loamy soil) or S-34 (black cotton soil) which are tolerant to drought or soil-moisture stress conditions. Usually, the plantation is raised and in block formation with a spacing of 6 feet x 6 feet, or 8 feet x 8 feet, as plant to plant and row to row distance. The plants are usually pruned once a year during the monsoon season (July – August) to a height of 5–6 feet and allowed to grow with a maximum of 8–10 shoots at the crown. The leaves are harvested 3–4 times a year by a leaf picking method under rain-fed or semi-arid conditions, depending on the monsoon.

The usual way to acquire a mulberry is by purchasing a young tree from a nursery. Most are grown in containers; plant any time the weather is suitable. Plant the young tree in an open, sunny position in well-manured soil, taking particular care not to damage the roots. Avoid planting near paths as the fruit is messy.

Soil- Mulberries need a well-drained, preferably loamy and slightly acidic soil with an ideal pH of 6-6.5. They generally need little fertiliser if the soil conditions are right. An annual dose of slow-release granular fertiliser should be all that’s needed.

Raising new plants- Take a cutting from a friend’s tree in either autumn or early spring, preferably a 30 cm cutting that has some two-year-old wood at the base. Plant the cutting deeply so that all but two or three buds are buried below ground. Alternatively, you could try rooting longer, larger branches, as they have a good chance of success, too. Be sure to trim off any lateral branches and bury about half the main branch in the soil. Large branches can be planted in the position where the tree is to grow, but shorter cuttings are better grown in a nursery bed for a year or two until they are well rooted. Avoid using any shoots that are growing from near the base of the original tree. The more desirable black mulberry was sometimes grafted onto a white mulberry, and the basal shoots may therefore be of the less desirable white species.

Pruning- Mulberries tend to bleed when cut, so avoid heavy pruning. Remove dead wood or inward-growing branches that rub against neighbouring branches in late autumn to early spring.

The Prospects and Potential of Morus Cultivars (Mulberry) Produced in Gilgit Baltistan 

l  Common name: Toot or Shahtoot

l  English name   :  Mulberry

l  Botanical name:  Morus alba

l  Deciduous plant

l  Native to warm temperate and subtropical regions 0f

l  Asia

l  Africa

l  Europe

l  Pakistan

Growing Stock of Trees on Farms(000 m3)

	Growing Stock of Trees on Farms, 000 m3/ha
AJK	2,060
Baluchistan	3,430
Gilgit Baltistan	1,592
Khyber phktoon kha	8,570
Punjab	46,100
Sindh	8,540
Total	70,292

Estimated Species composition of this growing stock:

	Percent of Growing stock
Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo	22
Kikar/Babul (Acacia nilotica	14
Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii)	8
Mango (Mangifera indica)	4
Mulberry (Morus alba)	3
Poplar (Populus sp.)	3
Total	44

Mulberry species

Morus alba                 White Mulberry

Morus nigra                Black Mulberry

Morus rubra                Red Mulberry

Morus australis           Chinese Mulberry

Morus mesozygia        African Mulberry

Morus microphylla       Texas Mulberry

Morus celtidifolia 

Morus insignis

Pests and diseases

Birds may strip much of the crop of ripe fruit unless the tree is netted. The main disease is canker.

Harvesting and storing

The best way to gather mulberries is to wait until they ripen in early autumn, then spread a cloth or large sheet of plastic beneath the branches and shake the tree gently. Any unripe fruit can remain on the tree to be gathered later