Mango arrival likely to get delayed

With unfavourable weather prevailing during the flowering period, mango arrival in Gujarat is likely to be late by month this year. Farmers and traders fear that if the condition continues for some more time, mango crop may not come before mid May.

"In terms of weather, this year is not going good for mango plantations. Generally mango flowering begins during November and December, but due to hot weather it started late in mid January," said Harsukh Jarsaniya, secretary Talala Agriculture Produce Market Committee.

Currently, Gujarat is also facing cold wave, with temperatures dipping to record low in several parts in the state, thanks to snowfall in northern parts of the country.

"The way cold wave in Gujarat is not good for mango crop. Flowering has not begun yet in some places of Gujarat which may delay mango arrivals by month this year. Also we fear the extreme cold weather may further damage the flowers," said Jarsaniya.

Under normal conditions, Kesar mango arrive in markets by mid or end of the April every year but this time it may come to market after mid May.

Ravajibhai Chovatiya, head of horticulture department, Junagadh Agriculture University said, "This year mango season will start late by a month as flowering season started late due to erratic weather. Cold is good for the crop but such a prolonged weather may be cause of concern for mango crop."

Apparently, last year was also not good for mango as it rained unexpectedly in February 2011. Production of Kesar mango stood at 3.33 million boxes (each box containing 10 kg) in 2011, which had declined by 959,000 boxes from 4.29 million boxes of 2010.

However farmers or traders declined to offer any production estimate for this year as it is too early to predict the same.

During the season, about 33 percent mango crop comes to Talala APMC for auction. Most of the farmers trade their products in APMCs at Rajkot, Junagadh, and Ahmedabad, among other places.