India: Weather and pests affecting mango production in Andhra
Mango is one of the top five crops in the region which has been badly affected for the past three years. Due to adverse weather conditions, a large extent of mango crop is being severely damaged at the flowering and podding stages.
The Horticulture department has been providing plastic bags for the export of mangoes to avoid gunny bags. However, this time during the flowering stage itself, the flowers have withered and fallen off on a large scale.
“Though we are using prescribed pesticides, they are not effective. We had witnessed flowering in November and hoped that this time we would get good returns. We are cultivating the Panukulu, since it is the early yielding variety. However, even in the second week of February, the cool weather and fog has dashed our hopes,” lamented G Thavitinaidu, a mango farmer of Tagarapuvalasa.
source: newindianexpress.com
