Weather hits India's supply of 'shahi' lychees
“The lychee crop, including its shahi variety, is getting burnt because of the dry westerly wind sweeping across the region. There are reports of fruits dropping from trees”, said SK Dubey, a lychee grower from Sakra (Western Muzaffarpur) and a recipient of the Kisan Bhushan award.
Bihar’s annual lychee production has been in the region of four lakh tonnes, but this time the production is expected to be about two and a half lakh tonnes. “Already, reports suggest that 15 to 20% of the produce in lychee orchards has been destroyed”, said another farmer.
Scientists from the National Lychee Research Centre at Mushahri (Muzaffarpur), with help from Kisan Mitras, are busy educating farmers on how to water the trees to protect the fruit.
source: hindustantimes.com
