GURDASPUR LITCHIGROWERS FEAR LESS YIELD THIS YEAR

GURDASPUR: Unfavourable weather conditions in February, which is season for flowering of litchi crop, in the region will result in less yield in Gurdaspur belt this year. The crop needs clear weather at the time of flowering, while it remained cloudy and windy in the region throughout the month.

A leading litchi-grower, Dilbagh Singh Cheema alias Lali, who owns a litchi orchard covering over 11 acre in Bariar village (3km from Gurdaspur), said that he is getting ₹1.1 lakh per acre per year from a Uttar Pradesh-based litchi contractor, Mohammad Rashid.

Cheema said that litchi crop gets maximum return from Mumbai and Banglore as it is not grown there. He said that most litchi crop is marketed in Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ambala. A litchi-grower gets around 100 to 150kg yield from a fully-grown litchi tree that starts bearing fruit after eight years of its plantation. And, it lasts for over 100 years.

Cheema said that litchi-growers can get more return if the Union or State government set up litchi processing plants in the area. If that happens, he claims that not even a single piece of the crop will be wasted.

He demanded that the State should provide insurance for the litchi crop as it will encourage farmers to take up growing this fruit. The litchi growers of Gurdaspur have been getting a net profit of around ₹1 lakh per acre per season. The state had declared Gurdaspur as a sub litchi hub last year, under which, the litchi growers were promised 50% financial help on total cost of production, 24-hour power supply to the orchards, and 25-30% subsidies on the purchase of infrastructure for the cultivation, besides providing latest know-how on litchi farming and marketing.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR HORTICULTURE, BALWINDER SINGH GILL, SAYS YIELD IS LIKELY TO TAKE A HIT IN WAKE OF UNFAVOURABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS