Mango production declines by nearly 60 percent

‘Severe temperature variation affected the fruit to a great extent’

MULTAN:

Mango production declined by nearly 60 percent in the ongoing season due to climate change and lack of resources, including closure of canals, electricity loadshedding and diesel shortage, at a very crucial time for the crop.

Severe temperature variation from March 11 to March 17 from 37 degrees centigrade to 42 degrees centigrade, contrary to 34 degrees centigrade routine temperature in previous years, affected the mango fruit to a greater extent, said the Director of the Mango Research Institute (MRI), Abdul Ghaffar Garewal, in Multan on Sunday.

Similarly, the temperature in April also remained high compared to the ones in previous years, and it also aggravated problems for the growers.

Abdul Ghaffar said that the mango production was affected by nearly 60 percent as the flowering stage could not bear the severity of the weather.

Besides climate changes, some other factors also damaged mango production. He stated that growers could not irrigate mango orchards at the time of fruiting due to shortage of canal water, electricity loadshedding and diesel shortage.

The growers could not operate their tube-wells due to power outages. Shahid Hameed Bhutta, a farmer, also expressed his concern over low production of mangoes.

He said that climate change was one of the important factors. About other reasons, he added that political instability during March-April, and “poor performance of the bureaucracy” also damaged the mango crop.