Mulberry thrives under various climatic conditions ranging from temperate
to tropical and is found north of the equator between 28 ° N and 55 ° N
latitude.
The ideal range of temperature is from 24 ° C to 28 ° C.
Mulberry
grows well in places with an annual rainfall ranging from 600 to 2500 mm.
In areas with low rainfall,
growth is limited through moisture stress,
resulting
in low yields. On average,
mulberry requires 340 m 3 /ha of water every
10 days in case of loamy soils and 15 days in clayey soils.
Atmospheric
humidity in the range of 65–80% is ideal for mulberry growth.
Sunshine
is one of the important factors controlling growth and leaf quality.
In the
tropics, mulberry grows with a sunshine range of 9–13 h a day.
Mulberry
can be cultivated from sea level up to an elevation of 1000 m.
Mulberry fl ourishes well in soils that are fl at, deep,
fertile, well drained,
loamy to clayey and porous with good moisture holding capacity. The ideal
range of soil pH is 6.2–6.8,
the optimum being 6.5–6.8.
Soil amendments
may be used to obtain the required pH.
Powdered gypsum/lime is mixed
well with the soil and irrigated to stagnation for 48–72 h.
Later the water is
leached out by drainage and dried. The quantity of gypsum or lime applied
in different cases to bring the pH to 6.8 are given in Table 1.1