Mangoes may cost a bomb

                                                                    
NUZVID/HYDERABAD: Mango, the king of fruits, could become dearer this summer. With the crop in about 40% of the nurseries in Nuzvid region having suffered damage due to adverse weather, the price of the fruit is likely to go through the roof. Consumers may be forced to shell out as much as Rs 200-250 to buy one kg of mango. The crop in Ranga Reddy and Medak districts is also hit because of late flowering.

Farmers had been spending sleepless nights in the last three months to save the crop. The Nuzvid region supplies a major chunk of mango to the state. The 'Banginapalle' mango from Nuzvid is the most sought after in the local and international markets. According to the latest predictions, the crop yield would come down by at least 40%. While mango is being grown in 64.58 thousand hectares in Krishna district, the yield is expected to be around seven tonnes per hectare against last year's 8-10 tonnes.

"The heavy rains in January had severely damaged the crop. We could protect the flower in about 60% of the total area," a senior official of the horticulture department said. Farmers had to struggle to see that the flower survived the adverse weather. But despite their efforts, the flower was frail.

"The delayed flowering is worrisome. The only hope is that farmers could get a good price since the yield is expected to be very low," said horticulture officer S Ahmed. He said the yields are expected to be in two-three spells instead of one in normal conditions.

Normally, the flowering stage ends by the second week of December and the fruit begins to grow by January. After most of the flowers were damaged in the January rains, it took time for second flowering. Janakiramaiah, owner of a mango nursery at Tiruvur, explained that extremely low temperatures during the nights in the winter had also caused irrecoverable loss.

In RR district, mangoes usually hit the market in mid-February itself. But the harvest has already been delayed by one month. However, as a result of drought, dip in ground water and high labour costs, the stocks have not arrived in the market yet. Horticulture officials said the crop loss would definitely lead to a major jump in the fruit rates.