Mango yield in Lucknow belt hit by weather woes, farmers expect 50 per cent drop in crop this season
LUCKNOW: Famous for their taste, size and variety, mangoes from the Lucknow belt are likely to be fewer this year, believe growers who wait for the season offering varieties galore, Dussehri, Langda, Safeda, Chausa and Ramkela, among others, to earn enough for the year ahead.
Though at the time of setting this year, even those trees that hadn't flowered in the last 2–4 years had bumper flowering, making orchardists hopeful. They got busy preparing for a better crop.
However, strong winds in April and the first week of May dashed their hopes. About 50 per cent of the flowers were damaged. Now, with unseasonal rains every now and then, pests on the trees are giving the growers sleepless nights.
'This season was looking very promising with good flowering on the trees. Strong winds damaged the flowers and it hampered the setting of the fruit. The mango yield will be less this year,' says Jugal Kishore Tiwari, who owns a mango orchard in Malihabad, about 30 kilometres from Lucknow headquarters.
In fact, experts believe that weather adversities, resulting in fewer female flowers than male ones, followed by an attack of the mango hopper pest, may dent the crop considerably.
Temperature fluctuations have also led to fungus and thrips attacking the crop. With the current situation in sight, the growers expect only 50 per cent of the crop to reach markets this year.
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