The ‘king of fruits’ might leave mango lovers a tad disappointed this summer. AP, which is one of the largest producers of delicious mangoes in the country, is fast losing its crown with a downward slide in the expected yield this season.
If experts are to be believed, the production is likely to be barely one-third of last year’s when it recorded a bumper crop of 43 lakh metric tonnes. While the horticulture officials too are not hopeful of a better yield, experts attribute the pessimism to fluctuations in temperatures, untimely rains, retention of high humidity in the atmosphere and ground water depletion. “It’s unusual. The entire south never had it so bad in the last 30 years with a significant drop in mango production in Andhra Pradesh,” Dr Y T N Reddy, scientist at Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bangalore, told TOI. The erratic flowering pattern notwithstanding, the fruit setting has been very poor because of which the yield would be very low. “The short supply could have a severe impact on the cost of the fruit,” said A Bhagwan of Fruit Research Station in Ranga Reddy district. The flowering was only 20-25 per cent at some places due to hot climatic conditions as the winter lasted for a brief period only in December — the prime season for mangoes. Both farmers and the officials are baffled by the delayed flowering in the mango growing belt of Krishna, Chittoor, East Godavari and other crop areas like Khammam, Kadapa, Karimnagar, Adilabad and parts of Warangal. “This year, the crop will be less than 50 per cent in almost all parts of the state,” rued Bandla Shekhar, a grower in Madanapalle. The horticulture department was hoping the flowering season in Feb-March 2010 could be good but even it was patchy. Andhra Pradesh is famous for its Banganapalli (Benishaan), Rasaalu and Himayat varieties. The other varieties grown prominently are Thotapuri, Alphonso, Neelam, Mallika and Amrapaali. The state has a total of 2.76 lakh hectares of area under mango cultivation, while the average annual production is pegged at around 32.5 lakh MTs. The production in 2007-08 was 41 lakh metric tons. “Too much moisture in the air during the flowering season has affected the growth of fruits. Another worrying factor is the considerable fruit dropping this time,” said L Jalapathi Rao, a field expert on mango orchards. Horticulture experts said this would mean fewer arrivals from the districts to the city’s markets. Industry sources observe that the mango processing industry too will be hit by the shortfall. The industry uses the Thotapuri variety — the pulp of which is used to make jams, beverages, squashes, jelly and fruit bars. With dip in crop quantity, the prices are set to hover between Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000 a tonne. Also, exports to countries like Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, China and the US could be hit. “In fact, the climate for mango crop hasn’t been favourable right since the flowering season of December,” reasoned G V Ramanjaneyulu of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. But industrialist and organic horticulturist Chalasani Dutt sees hope. “With application of nutrients, hormones and irrigation management, the fruit-bearing capacity can still be increased,” he added.
Jadli Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd., an ISO 9001:9002 Certified Co., Govt. of India Recognized Star Export House is one of the leading manufacturer and exporter of Fruits-Pulp/Puree & Concentrate mainly of Alphanso and Totapuri Mango, Pink & White Guava, Litchi & Tamarind packed in Aseptic Bag and OTS Cans, has been supplying to Fruit Juice and Dairy Industries in Far East, Sub Continent, Middle East, European and African Countries for more than a decade.
