Decision guides · Citrus (Nagpur mandarin)
What are ambia and mrig bahar? Choosing the right one for your orchard
Three tests decide it: how much water you have in summer, which month you want to sell in, and which bahar the trees carried last year. Scarce summer water favours mrig; a winter market with summer water favours ambia. Once chosen, keep it.
Last checked (AI-assisted): 15 Oct 2026. Checked on 15 Oct 2026 against published ICAR, state agricultural university and FAO guidance with AI assistance. Not yet reviewed by an agronomist or tested with farmers. No spray, pesticide, fertiliser or irrigation amount is given here; for those, test your soil and ask your KVK or an agronomist.
The two bahars compared
Ambia: stress in November and December, flowers in January and February, fruit from October to December. This fruit starts reaching the market from October.
Mrig: stress from late April to May, flowers with the first rain in June and July, fruit from February to March. While the fruit is small, the monsoon brings the risk of waterlogging and gummosis (Phytophthora); keep drainage channels open.
Test 1: summer water
In ambia the fruit hangs through the summer; an irrigation gap in April or May can mean drop. If your well or bore runs low in summer, ambia is risky.
In mrig the tree is under stress, resting without water, through summer, so low summer water is tolerable. But if the rain is late it needs water in June, and it needs water in winter while the fruit is on the tree.
Test 2: the market month
Orange prices move by month. Decide which month pays better in your area from the last three years of APMC records. No figures are given here because they change every year.
Test 3: tree age and history
Do not take a bahar on young trees (roughly the first 3 to 4 years); let them grow. On mature trees keep the bahar they carried last year; switching can cost a year of yield.
The temptation to take both
Some growers take both bahars. Small fruit, tired trees, lower yield next year. One orchard, one bahar.
What to check in your field or orchard this week
- How much water does your well hold in April and May? (recall the last two summers)
- Which month paid better in the last three years?
- How old are the trees? Are they big enough to carry a bahar?
A Watch message says only what changed and what to check. It never names a product, a fertiliser or an irrigation amount.
Questions
What if I want to change the bahar this year?
Possible, but the year of the change yields less. Talk to the KVK or an agronomist, rest the trees, and take the new bahar from the next season.
What price will I get?
This guide gives no price figure. Check your market's past-year prices on APMC or Agmarknet.
Does the satellite help with the choice?
Not directly. But once the bahar is taken, the stress and flowering periods show up as greenness changes in the weekly report, which helps you time next year better.
Want a weekly message for your field?
Call us to join. Free to watch. What changed in your field or orchard, every week, with the date and the source.
Sources
- ICAR-CCRI Nagpur, month-by-month guidelines for citrus growers: bahar stress, irrigation and harvest through the year · ccri.org.in/calendar-of-operations/
- Dr. PDKV, Akola: All India Coordinated Research Project on Citrus, findings for Nagpur mandarin (soil moisture stress, irrigation scheduling, fruit drop) · www.pdkv.ac.in/?p=4604
- Agricultural Produce Market Committee price data for Nagpur orange (seasonal pattern; check current year on the APMC or Agmarknet portal) · agmarknet.gov.in/
More guides
- Nagpur orange bahar management: ambia or mrig, when to stress, when to water
- How much water does an orange tree need? When to irrigate Nagpur orange
- Drip irrigation for orange trees: a month-by-month schedule
- Citrus fruit drop: causes, and what to check first
- Why citrus leaves turn yellow: read the pattern, find the cause, then act
- Water stress: the sign on the tree, the sign in the soil, the sign from the satellite
- Nagpur orange season: when to harvest ambia and mrig fruit
- Weather and irrigation: how the five-day forecast changes the watering schedule
- What is satellite farming? What a satellite sees in your orchard, and what it cannot
- Ambia bahar orange crop insurance in Maharashtra: what it covers, who can enrol, how to apply
- Nagpur orange planting (santra lagwad): soil, spacing, pit size, rootstock and planting time
- Nagpur orange fertiliser (santra khat vyavasthapan): what to ask your KVK before you apply
- Nagpur orange season and GI tag: when ambia and mrig bahar fruit reach the market
- How to see a satellite image of your own field for free: Copernicus Browser, NASA Worldview and ISRO Bhuvan
- NDVI full form and meaning: what NDVI is and what it tells you about an orange orchard
- Cotton in Vidarbha: what to check, and when, from sowing to picking
- Soybean in Vidarbha: what to check, and when, from sowing to harvest
- Tur (pigeonpea) in Vidarbha: what to check, and when, from sowing to harvest
- Chana (chickpea) in Vidarbha: what to check, and when, from sowing to harvest
How we compute this and what the limits are: the methods page