The cent per cent flowering of mango trees this January had painted a rosy picture for a good yield of the fruit in Maharashtra. However, the recent cloudy and stormy weather in some parts of the state, coupled with rainfall in several other places, has resulted in excessive fruit and flower drop. This has left mango farmers staring at a shortfall in production and a possible price rise too this year. Experts believe that the mango season will only last for 35-45 days this time. G M Waghmare, officer-in-charge at the Fruit Research Station in Aurangabad, said the recent rainfall in Aurangabad led to considerable flower and fruit drop. "Mango trees bear two types of flowers - male and hermaphrodite. It is the latter that bears fruits. Though the male flower drop is considerable every year, the recent weather conditions resulted in hermaphrodite flowers declining too, leading to a 25-30 per cent fruit and flower drop. Also, in such weather conditions, fruits tend to catch diseases such as anthracnose," he said.
Bhagwan Rao M Kapse, horticulturist at the National Agricultural Research Project ( NARP), Aurangabad, said the mango yield is expected to fall by a whopping 50-60 per cent this year as compared to last year. "The prolonged cold this year led to an excess of male flowers on mango trees, apart from defective pollen tubes in hermaphrodite flowers. As a result, the fruit-set retention this year has been smaller due to prolonged cold, and so is the number of fruits after harvest. In addition, the recent stormy weather conditions in places in and around Aurangabad resulted in considerable fruit drop - up to 90 per cent in Sillod taluka and 75-80 per cent in Paithan," said Kapse. Friday's rainfall in places such as Aurangabad, Parbhani and Jalgaon has resulted in a 20-25 per cent fruit drop, he added.
An official from the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board ( MSAMB) said the rainfall in Aurangabad on Friday caused a further fruit drop, which would reduce the mango production in the state by 60 per cent. "Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have also experienced considerable flower drop due to pests that have proliferated due to the cloudy weather conditions. Pests like thrips and hopper have caused up to 30-40 per cent flower drop," he said. "In Konkan, growers have reported mangoes catching anthracnose, which is caused by sugary secretion on fruits due to early morning dew. Considering the situation, farmers are using more pesticides to combat diseases. The production cost has, therefore, risen and hence there are chances of mangoes being costlier this season," he said.
Mandar Desai, a third generation mango grower with a 700-acre mango plantation in Ratnagiri, and a mango outlet in Pune since 1932, said farmers in Ratnagiri and Devgarh had expected an increase in mango production this year due to the excessive flowering in January. "The mango trees experienced an over-load due to excessive flower growth, resulting in 20-25 per cent flower drop in both male and hermaphrodite flowers. The disrupted climatic conditions led to a further flower drop of 15-20 per cent. The total production has, therefore, fallen by 40-45 per cent," he said. Desai said that this year, the mango season may only last for 30-35 days as against 50-55 days last year. "All these factors may ultimately affect mango prices, which may increase from last year's Rs 300-400 per dozen to Rs 400-600 per dozen in April," he said.
A J Nirban, director of extended education at DBS Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, validates the poor mango season this year, "Low temperature prevailed in Konkan for a period of 60 days in December, January and February, which coincided with flowering. The hermaphrodite flowers were recorded as 4-10 per cent as against the usual 11 per cent. In addition, due to low temperature, the fruit-set was 0.25-1 per cent in these flowers." Vivek Yashwant Bhide, a mango grower with 2,000 trees in Konkan, who is also president of Shree Mangoes near Ganapatipule, said, "Most of the winter season saw the temperature dipping below 15 degrees, with heavy dew during December-end and the first week of January. This led to the fruits catching thrips infection, right from Vengurla to Mandangad. If the cloudy weather here prevails, we are afraid we would lose the remaining mangoes to Hopper. The production has come down by 75% as compared to that of the regular season."
Bhagwan Rao M Kapse, horticulturist at the National Agricultural Research Project ( NARP), Aurangabad, said the mango yield is expected to fall by a whopping 50-60 per cent this year as compared to last year. "The prolonged cold this year led to an excess of male flowers on mango trees, apart from defective pollen tubes in hermaphrodite flowers. As a result, the fruit-set retention this year has been smaller due to prolonged cold, and so is the number of fruits after harvest. In addition, the recent stormy weather conditions in places in and around Aurangabad resulted in considerable fruit drop - up to 90 per cent in Sillod taluka and 75-80 per cent in Paithan," said Kapse. Friday's rainfall in places such as Aurangabad, Parbhani and Jalgaon has resulted in a 20-25 per cent fruit drop, he added.
An official from the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board ( MSAMB) said the rainfall in Aurangabad on Friday caused a further fruit drop, which would reduce the mango production in the state by 60 per cent. "Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have also experienced considerable flower drop due to pests that have proliferated due to the cloudy weather conditions. Pests like thrips and hopper have caused up to 30-40 per cent flower drop," he said. "In Konkan, growers have reported mangoes catching anthracnose, which is caused by sugary secretion on fruits due to early morning dew. Considering the situation, farmers are using more pesticides to combat diseases. The production cost has, therefore, risen and hence there are chances of mangoes being costlier this season," he said.
Mandar Desai, a third generation mango grower with a 700-acre mango plantation in Ratnagiri, and a mango outlet in Pune since 1932, said farmers in Ratnagiri and Devgarh had expected an increase in mango production this year due to the excessive flowering in January. "The mango trees experienced an over-load due to excessive flower growth, resulting in 20-25 per cent flower drop in both male and hermaphrodite flowers. The disrupted climatic conditions led to a further flower drop of 15-20 per cent. The total production has, therefore, fallen by 40-45 per cent," he said. Desai said that this year, the mango season may only last for 30-35 days as against 50-55 days last year. "All these factors may ultimately affect mango prices, which may increase from last year's Rs 300-400 per dozen to Rs 400-600 per dozen in April," he said.
A J Nirban, director of extended education at DBS Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, validates the poor mango season this year, "Low temperature prevailed in Konkan for a period of 60 days in December, January and February, which coincided with flowering. The hermaphrodite flowers were recorded as 4-10 per cent as against the usual 11 per cent. In addition, due to low temperature, the fruit-set was 0.25-1 per cent in these flowers." Vivek Yashwant Bhide, a mango grower with 2,000 trees in Konkan, who is also president of Shree Mangoes near Ganapatipule, said, "Most of the winter season saw the temperature dipping below 15 degrees, with heavy dew during December-end and the first week of January. This led to the fruits catching thrips infection, right from Vengurla to Mandangad. If the cloudy weather here prevails, we are afraid we would lose the remaining mangoes to Hopper. The production has come down by 75% as compared to that of the regular season."
