PANAJI
: While the astringent odour of freshly purchased cashew apples is filling up people’s homes, the season looks bleak for
mangoes
.
Climatic changes have led to erratic flowering of the
mango crop
this season owing to which fruits are not likely to bear abundantly.
“The mango crop is unlikely to meet the expectations,” said director of agriculture, Ulhas Pai Kakode.
Elaborating further he said that the day-to-day weather has not been in favour of crop’s growth. “The morning temperature at times was 20 degrees while the afternoons at 36 degrees. So much variation in temperature has had an effect on the mango crop due to which the flowering is not uniform,” he said.
The initial harvest has already hit the market with prices going as high as 200-500 per mango in some cases. However, less quantity is also an added factor for the exorbitant rates.
Though better quantity of mangoes usually arrive in the market by mid-March, the late flowering has also delayed the process of fruition.
“Some mango crops are flowering only now which means farmers will be able to harvest in the last week of May. By that time the mango loses its value and won’t fetch maximum rates. The overall crop, therefore, is not satisfactory,” said spokesperson of All Goa Farmer’s Sangh, Rohan Joshi.
The cashew output this season on the other hand has turned out to be favourable, owing to less exposure to fog and dew through the winter.
“Compared to last year, the
cashew crop
this season has been a recipient of clear weather and zero dampness in December. This has helped the crop flower on time and fruit well. We therefore expect a good produce of
cashews
this season,” Kakode told TOI.
“The raw nut rates for this season are 160 per kg, which is better compared to last year where the prices went down to 110,” said a local farmer. While the initial produce of cashew apples are already in the market, the second flowering period will commence in April.
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