The famous Dharmapuri mangoes of Tamil Nadu are set to get more expensive as a result of pest attack leading to shortage.
According to farmers, the prices are yet to be fixed but it will be anywhere more than 20 to 30 per cent than the previous years, given the damage suffered by the pest attack.
The district has a total of 15,000 hectares under mango cultivation and the yield was around 10 tonne of mangoes for each hectare, they said.
K. Krishnamoorthy, a mango farmer at Dharmapuri told IANS: “The production of mangoes was around 1.5 lakh metric tonne from the 15000 hectares of cultivation. However, this year pests have ravaged the crop and we do not expect half the produce and this will lead to a hike in prices.”
Horticulture department sources told IANS that two insects, leafhopper and Thrips have destroyed the crop by half in the current season at Dharmapuri reports www.mangalorean.com
The state horticulture department has already invited plant scientists, pathologists, and entomologists to investigate and suggest counter-measures and some scientists have given a list of recommendations for farmers to overcome the situation.