The recent unseasonal rain has caused heavy damage to Kesar mango crops in Marathwada region, growers have estimated that almost 50% of the fruit has been lost and it will affect their export target. The summer delight may not even be seen in large numbers in the local markets.
Experts said that the Kesar mango was originally cultivated in Junagadh in Gujarat. It was brought to Marathwada a decade ago and has since succeeded in dominating the traditional mango market in the region. Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur and some parts of Nanded have emerged as the Kesar growing hubs.
Farmer Harish Jakete said, "The areas affected by rain will witness a 50% dip in annual mango production, while those affected by hailstones will lose their entire crop. Kesar mango-growing areas in Paithan and Sillod in Aurangabad district are the worst-affected by the rough weather."
D P Waskar, director of research, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krushi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani said, "The unseasonal rain affects the crops in two ways. It damages the trees leading to crumbling of flowers and rise in humidity levels can cause 'powdery mildew' disease in the plants. Mangoes need sunny climate at this time. The wet conditions that persist for some time after rainfall can cause spotting on the fruit. The newly-formed fruits can suffer great damage because of fungal infection."
Since late February, heavy rain and hailstorms have been reported in many parts of the state. Mango farmers said that the rain accompanied by hail and gusty winds has damaged the new fruit and flowers already. Traders at the city fruit markets predicted that short supplies would increase the use of carbide to ripen the fruit.
"Normally, the fruit should remain on the tree for at least 60 days. If the weather conditions do not improve, the plucking of some varieties like Totapuri could start early," said Mohd Akhtar, who owns around 500 mango trees in his farm situated on Aurangabad-Nashik road. "Use of artificial ripening methods may go up before sending the fruit out to the retail market," he added.
Vasantrao Deshmukh, joint secretary, Aurangabad Mango Growers' Association (MGA) said, "This year has been particularly bad for the farmers. It all began with the prolonged winter that delayed flowering in mango trees by 20-25 days. When the crop was in fruit-bearing stage, rain accompanied with hailstorm and gusty winds have caused damage to a large extent. This year, we cannot expect any mango being exported and it will hardly be available in the local market," he said.
Exporters said that the Kesar mango is treated as an alternative to the more expensive Alphonso variety by US and European countries.
It is preferred due to its unique sweet taste, aroma, keeping quality and is characterised by its golden colour with green overtone. Food safety and hygiene are important aspects for exporting mangoes to Japan and America.
The Japanese government has issued special guidelines regarding the examination of infestation of fruit fly.
Deputy manager of the state agriculture marketing board (Aurangabad division) Santosh Alse said that the Jalna export facility was started in 2005. It has the capacity of two cold storages each of 25 MT and 5 MT capacity pre-cooling unit.
"The Kesar mangoes are largely exported to the US for the past three years. The fruit is also exported to China, Hong Kong, England, Japan, Netherland and the Gulf countries," he said.
Shashikant Kamble, Jalna export facility in-charge, said that the total area of mango crop cultivation is about 10,000 hectares, of which Kesar is grown on more than 75% area.
The farmers from Marathwada had exported about 46 metric tonnes of Kesar mangoes in 2008-09, while the figure dipped to 1.3 mt in 2012-13 due to the prevailing drought conditions.
Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
