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Disease devours mango crop
MAHOTTARI, MAY 01 -
Mango production in Mahottari district is likely to go down this year as a disease called 'Fruit drop' has afflicted the mango fruits from their very infancy.
The District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) predicted the fall in production as the problem of fruit drop caused a decline by 75
percent of the mango fruits in their infancy.
It was expected that mango yield would go up as the flowering stage was very encouraging in February. Both farmers and technicians were hopeful of prospects of better harvest when the infant fruits appeared on the trees.
Entrepreneurs also pumped in millions of rupees hoping for good profits in view of the promising crop. Their dreams have been shattered. "We had expected that the mango harvest would go up by 30 percent this year as the initial indications showed that the trees were choc-a-bloc with mango flowers," said Pawan Tiwari, an agriculture technician.
The DADO had hoped for a yield of at least 20 metric tonnes of mangoes from trees standing on 1750 hectares of land.
"Now, the fruit drop disease that broke out in mid-April has laid barren the trees," said farmer Narayan Adhikari, of Bharatpur-4. Sitaram Mandal, horticulture development officer at the DADO, said the problem of fruit drop didease arose as the mango trees were hit by a shortage of Napthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) hormone.
"This problem arises as a result of high temperature, lack of irrigation and nitrous components for the trees," he added.
According to him, the remaining mango trees can be cured with Plano fix medicine.
Only 14,875 metric tons of mangoes were harvested last year from trees on 3630 hectares of land due to unfavourable climate. More than two dozens varieties of mango including Malda, Bumbai, Kolkatia, Dashahari and Krishnabhog are produced in the district.
Posted on: 2010-05-02 09:32
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