Mango growers in Karnataka could land in trouble in the near future if the spread of mango fruit borer in Andhra Pradesh was not contained, scientists at the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR) here have warned.
The borer, which was first detected in the 70s on the east coast, was spreading towards the west cast rapidly since 2007, affecting Bangenapalli or Baneshan mangoes. So far restricted to Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Srikakulam areas, the borer has been seen moving towards the Krishna district, worrying entomologists.
“About 60 per cent of the fruits in Krishna district, a major mango growing area in Andhra Pradesh, was affected by the borer in 2009. We have seen the trend of borer moving towards the west coast and it has the potential to invade mango orchards in Karnataka as well,” Abraham Verghese, Principal Scientist of Entomology at IIHR, told The Hindu.
Although the mango fruit borer was predominantly seen affecting the Bangenapalli variety, it had the potential to affect other varieties, he added.
Since Karnataka sourced the early Bangenapalli mangoes from Krishna district, totapuri and neelam, the two late varieties of mango in the State were susceptible to the borer attacks. Vijayawada was one of the biggest suppliers of Bangenpalli fruits to all parts of the country.
“The issue will be raised at the Research Advisory Committee meeting to be held in the first week of February besides sending formal communication to different State departments,” he said.
The borer tends to attack early when the fruit is of a marble size and it lays eggs on the fruit. Once the eggs are hatched, the caterpillar bores into the fruit and comes out only after maturing. “Three to four generations of borers sustain between February and May. We fear that the harvested fruit has the potential to carry the borer to non-affected areas,” Dr. Verghese said.
Quarantine
Stressing the need to have strong quarantine protocols for inter-State movement, he said: “The best thing is not get Bangenapalli fruit from the affected districts in Andhra Pradesh to Karnataka as even one affected fruit can spread the borer here.”
If the traders were getting the fruit, it should be graded and infested fruits should be culled before the consignment was brought. “There are borer-free orchards from where the fruits can be sourced,” Dr. Verghese said.
He said that they planned to sensitise traders and officials from horticulture and agriculture departments besides Hopcoms.
