Mango producers in southern Sinaloa expect a complicated season due to atypical flowering, low production forecasts, and a delay in the start of the harvest.
According to Porfirio Salas Castillo, a leading fruit grower in Escuinapa, the weather instability has affected the flowering of mangoes this year. Producers hope the price of Ataulfo mango will be above 8 pesos at the beginning of the season. However, they recognize this might be difficult given the downward trend in prices in previous years, which have sometimes fallen to 1 peso.
Weather conditions have not been favorable in the southern region of Sinaloa, as morning and night temperatures have remained between 15 and 20 degrees in the orchards, which does not favor the necessary variation of cold and heat for optimal flowering.
Rogelio Padilla Salcido, leader of the CNC in Escuinapa, said the season is delayed by approximately 20 days due to the late onset of flowering, which is not a good omen. Compared to last year, when flowering began earlier, this season has been delayed, starting in January and extending until March.
This delay will affect the harvest of various mango varieties such as Ataulfo, Haden, Tommy, Kent, and Keitt, which are grown in the approximately 30,000 hectares in the region that yield an average of 200,000 tons of fruit a year.
Source: punto.mx