From November to June, hundreds of mango orchards in Chittoor district would be bubbling with activity. With orchards spread over one lakh hectares, mango is gradually gaining prominence as the king of commercial crops by virtue of its resilience and guarantee of minimum profits even in the face of adverse climatic conditions.
Generally by Ugadi festival day, the first batch of raw mangoes should have arrived in the markets as their pieces are considered a must in ‘mamidi pachhadi.’This year, the phenomenon was not seen in March, and people had to adjust without the vital ingredient. According to senior horticulture scientists and officials, the mango crop is being delayed by nearly 50 days. In spite of this, the district Yeruvaka wing predicts an yield of nine lakh metric tonnes by June, considered a very comfortable profit figure compared to the previous two years.
Over 2 lakh farmers, who have cultivated the crop on about 70,000 hectares, are eagerly awaiting the result. In another another 30,000 hectares, saplings have been planted.
Deputy Director (Horticulture) Saraswathi told The Hindu that there is no cause for concern. “It’s true that the lingering rains in November and December last year had resulted in delay in flowering in the orchards. Fall of flowering in February and March is a regular feature . Not all the flowering would turn into fruit. A bunch of 6,000 flowers will finally see only 10 surviving, and in the crop stage, only two stand as the yield. As the male flowering, which does not produce any yield, is more prone to falling ground early during gales, there is a confusion among the mango growers that the flowering is gone. At last, it’s the female flowering which remains,” she said, appealing to the growers not to lose their heart.
Krishi Vignana Kendra (Kalikiri) coordinator and district Yeruwaka project in-charge S. Rajasekhar Naidu said that the prime varieties of mango in Chittoor district are Thothapuri at 50%, followed by Benisha at 20%; and Kadar at 10%, followed by others. “This year, the Benisha variety suffered the brunt of gales in about ten mandals in the western side, while most of the crop is safe in other parts. As per our estimates, there is no need to worry about yields” the official said.
The official said that they are expecting an yield of six to seven tonnes (as against regular eight tonnes) each in as many as 68,000 hectares.
Some of the major food parks and pulp industry units are gearing up for the arrivals of stocks from May first week. There are as many as 45 pulp units, in addition to three major food parks – Galla Foods, Srini Foods and Jain Irrigation Systems. Already, the first batch of migrant workers from Northern States, particularly from UP, Bihar, MP and Chhattisgarh , has started arriving in Chittoor district.
Compensation concerns
But the farmers are a worried lot. They argue that the mango crop is most neglected one when it comes to payment of compensation.
“We have absolutely no provision for compensation for loss of flowering, damage due to heavy winds and gales. Compensation will be considered only when a tree is uprooted. However, in areas like Kuppam, compensation is paid when the damage is caused by elephants,” Ms. Saraswathi says.
