Mango may be out of aam aadmi’s reach this year
LUCKNOW: The king of fruits is set to get pricier this season.
Mango production has crashed in India’s largest producer of the fruit, Uttar Pradesh, and prices of your favourite Dasheri or Langra are likely to be sky high in the peak season of the summer delicacy.
A series of dust storms and humid weather impeded the flowering of mango trees, and ultimately soured yield, which is down 65% compared to that of last year.
The state had a record yield last year of 4.4 million metric tonnes and mango prices hovered between Rs 20 and Rs 40 a kg. With produce pegged at just 1.5 million tonnes this year, the rates are expected to soar two to three times.
“Crop is poor, which was not at all expected,” said Mohammed Miyan, a mango grower in Mallihabad.
UP has 250,000 hectares under mango cultivation and produces nearly a quarter of India’s mangoes.
Mango-growers say unseasonal flowering of the mango tree in January gave them hope but in a month, the flowers began to shed under an onslaught of dust storms. Others said “strong humid winds” forced them to double pesticide sprinkling to save the trees from pests, ultimately affecting the health and taste of the fruit.
Uneven temperatures also hit the fruit. “This year, the mango belt experienced temperature below 10 degree Celsius during night that kept the pollinators at bay, thus affecting the crop,” said Dr Shailendra Rajan, director ICARCentral Institute for Subtropical Horticulture. He said ideal temperature was between 16 and 20 Degree Celsius.
But some of the more experienced farmers said they expected the yield to be lower after last year’s bumper crop as mango is a biennial tree.
The growers have now demanded a loan waiver. “We have also demanded inclusion of mangoes in the PM crop insurance scheme,” said Insram Ali of the All India Mango Growers’ Association.