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K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad , May 5

THE unprecedented rains and hailstorm in several places in Andhra Pradesh in the last two weeks have resulted in a dip in mercury levels.

But, this is no good news for mango farmers, particularly when the demand for the fruit has started picking up after a relatively slack run.

Several bouts of hailstorms had led to mango crop loss in an estimated 1,900 hectares that spread across in seven districts.

This figure didn't include the extent of loss in Krishna district, the leader in mango production. The mango growers in the district had already suffered a bout of gales in January, affecting the crucial fruit-setting period.

Of the three-lakh hectares of mango crop in the State, Krishna district was home to some 65,000 hectares with an average yield of 10 tonnes a hectare.

"But this year, the yield is likely to fall to six to seven tonnes a hectare," Mr Venkateswarlu, Assistant Director (Horticulture) of Krishna district said.

The crop loss in the district due to rains was put at about 7,000 acres.

Mr Virupkumar, Secretary of the local Mango Growers' Association, predicted that there would be more than the normal production this year. He said demand for mangoes was less at the outset of the season. This, he felt, would go up this month.

The loss was put at 393 hectares in Karimnagar and in 120 hectares in Chittoor, another leading mango producing district.

A senior State Horticultural official saw a 20 per cent dip in production this year. Severe drought conditions and peculiar variations in temperature were the main reasons, he said.

Substituting the depleting natural moisture in the soil with irrigation could have helped the situation. "But how many farmers could afford it," he asked.

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