Right before market dispatch, thunderstorm damages 20% mango yield in U.P. - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Right before market dispatch, thunderstorm damages 20% mango yield in U.P.

May 29, 2023 08:48 PM IST

This season, flowering was three times better than the previous year. However, the produce was impacted due to hailstorms in March & April. Later, extreme warm weather in May compensated for the loss but the yield has yet again been affected by the recent thunderstorm.

LUCKNOW Thunderstorms accompanied with a rain spell on Saturday in various parts of Uttar Pradesh may have brought relief from a heatwave but it negatively impacted the mango farmers of the state.

Affected mango farmers have urged government to provide compensation. (HT Photo)
Affected mango farmers have urged government to provide compensation. (HT Photo)

According to the cultivators, they have incurred a loss of roughly 20% due to the unprecedented thunderstorm and rain spell at a time when mango produce was predicted to be three times better than the previous year. They added that the mango yield was to be exported in the first week of June itself.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

“Last minute rain is usually good for mango cultivation but this time, due to the thunderstorm, around 15-20% mango produce has been adversely affected in the entire state, particularly in Maal-Malihabad and the Kakori region” said Insram Ali, President of All-India Mango Growers’ Association.

Ali had earlier said that the produce this year is three times better than previous year weighing approximately 30-35 lakh metric tonnes. “Earlier, hailstorms in the months of March and April had damaged about 20-25% but it was compensated by the extreme warm weather, which is good for mango ripening. However, at the last moment, a thunderstorm pulled down ripe mangoes and destroyed many of them,” he said.

Echoing the sentiment, Atul Krishna Awasthi of Tafari farmer producer company Limited in Latifpur, Malihabad, who works with several mango growers said that most of the farmers have complained about the loss which is expected to be around 20%.

According to ICAR-Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) loss in yield in U.P is expected to be around 10%. “We’ve received information from the majority of the belt and the loss is expected to be around 10%,” said PK Shukla, principal scientist and HOD of Crop protection, CISH.

Ali has urged the government to provide some compensation to the affected cultivators for whom their farms/orchards is the only source of livelihood.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On