Mango, cashew crops see hike in yield this season

PANAJI

: The king of fruits,

mango

, and the Goan

cashew

seem to have brought a smile on the faces of consumers this year with their abundant availability in the local markets.

The season has come to an end on a high note for farmers too as the state has reported a bountiful produce of the two fleshy fruits. Figures shared by the agriculture department point to an increase in the production of cashews and mangoes in the agricultural year of July 2016 to June 2017. While the mango produce has increased by 60%, the production of cashew has risen by almost 40%.

“The overall production of both cashews as well as mangoes has increased compared to last year. The climate was congenial which worked in favour of production,” said agriculture director Ulhas Pai Kakode. The crops received the right amount of cold in December, followed by humidity in the following months which helped in flowering. A brief cold spell later had led to the blackening of some flowers, but as the summer took over, fruition began.

STOI had reported at the beginning of the season that the agriculture department had estimated an increase in mango production. Going by the trend, it had predicted that the overall production was likely to cross last season’s threshold. This year, there has been a production of 9,545 tonnes of mangoes, as compared 5,958 tonnes produced in the last agricultural financial year (July 2015 to June 2016).

“Ancestral varieties such as Mancurad, bore fruits in abundance, while Ratnagiri, Sindhu and

Amarapali

varieties were also profuse. The last time we had such a good yield was in the 2013 harvest,” said Raia-based farmer Lactancio Pereira.

Cashew produce was 24,396 tonnes this year, as compared to 17,549 tonnes in the corresponding period last year. Another farmer,

Jagganath Lawande

, said, “There was a 30% increase in production of cashews in my farm as against last year.”


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