Sweet, fragrant Dasheri mangoes could be heavy on your pocket this time after unseasonal and heavy rainfall lashed parts of Uttar Pradesh. This has dealt a big blow to production in the state’s prime mango belt of Malihabad, especially known for growing the highly popular variety of this fruit.
Dasheri, which is usually available for Rs 20 to Rs 35 per kg, is likely to cost between Rs 45 and Rs 60 this year, those growing the fruit said. Rain and thunderstorm left a severe dent on a promising mango crop in Malihabad as well as other mango belts, with more bad weather predicted in the next couple of days. The meteorological centre in Lucknow has issued a weather warning up to Wednesday.
Mango growers said unseasonal rainfall played spoilsport even as they were expecting a high yield this time. This has brought down mango production from around 8 to 9 lakh MT to 1.5 lakh MT. Not only Malihabad, but other mango belts in the state were also adversely impacted, with mango production touching an all-time low.
Popular mango varieties like Chaunsa, Dasheri, Fazli, Gulab Khas, Langra, Mallika and Amrapali are produced in the state. But following poor yield, their prices are expected to go through the roof.
‘Mango Man’ Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan, who is from Lucknow’s Malihabad tehsil, said the time after winter was crucial for the mango crop as this was the flowering time and good flowering led to a good crop. “Hence, at this particular time, the weather conditions matter a lot. Unfortunately, heavy rainfall and hailstorm experienced over the past few days has badly damaged flowers and its effect will be visible on the crop,” Khan said.
Mango Grower Association of India president Insram Ali said this year growers were expecting a good yield but bad weather had brought all hopes down. “If weather conditions remain the same, mango crop will be badly affected,” said Ali, highlighting the grim scenario of UP’s mango belt, including Lucknow, which is one of the largest.
“Unlike previous years when Dasheri was available for Rs 20 to Rs 35 per kg, this year its price will be somewhere between Rs 45 and Rs 60,” he said.
Lucknow’s mango belt, which has also fetched it the title of ‘mango capital’, comprises three tehsils – Malihabad, Mall and Kakori. In all three, as per the horticulture department, mango is produced on 23,589 hectares of land. Mallihabad is said to be the largest contributor to the total mango production (from the mango belt) with over 10,000 hectares engaged in mango farming.
Ali further said the situation was no different in other mango belts of UP. Mangoes are produced on an area of 2.5 lakh hectares in the state – Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Allahabad, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Faizabad, Varanasi, Moradabad, Barabanki, Meerut, Unnao, Sitapur, Hardoi, Gorakhpur, Basti, JP Nagar and Mathura are major mango producing belts in the state.
In total, the mango belts produce around 45 lakh MT of mangoes. “But this year the produce is expected to decrease to 25 lakh MT only, which is a massive drop. Besides, the crop is also late this year and is likely to hit markets in the second or third week of June,” Ali said, adding that the mango growers’ body will be writing to chief minister Yogi Adityanath requesting compensation for those who suffered big losses due to unseasonal rainfall.
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