The arrival of the king of fruits is one of the silver linings every summer. But lack of adequate rain may result in fewer mangoes this time.
Farmers, hit by drought last year, are hoping for rain around Ugadi. If that fails too, the mango yield is expected to be as low as 30% of the average annual yield this year.
Srinivas, president, Chickballapur Mango Growers’ Association, said the yield was down by over 50% because of high temperature and water shortage.
Smaller in size
“The moisture levels are low and the temperatures are high. Though there has been good flowering, the fruit is under stress leading to fruit drop. Technical analysis by the corporation has indicated that these conditions have adversely impacted fruit formation, and the size of fruits formed will be small, impacting the yield,” said C.G. Nagaraj, managing director, Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Ltd. (KSMDMCL).
Mr. Nagaraj said mango growing areas spread over 17 districts in two clusters — Kolar and adjoining districts in the south and Dharwad and adjoining districts in the north — must receive at least 20 to 25 mm of rainfall around Ugadi for the present yield to be retained.
“If the rain fails, the yield will be hit,” Mr. Srinivas said.
Mango growers suffered a loss last year owing to late flowering, which resulted in a shorter season. Then there was a glut of mangoes in June and July, leading to a price crash.
The condition worsened to such a extent that following protests, the government announced a support price of ₹2.5 a kg, which did not make up for the losses, leaving growers in distress, farmers complain.
Water from tankers
Now, KSMDMCL has advised growers to turn to tankers to water trees, and use pheromone traps from April to prevent fruits from being infected by fruit-flies.
However, farmers said using tanker water was unsustainable as it increases the input cost, and moreover, water was hard to come by in most districts.
Mangoes of Rasapuri and Sindhuri varieties that have started arriving in the city are being traded at ₹130-₹140 kg, but they are of not good quality, officials said.