Orange: Production to fall 20% due to disease

SARGODHA: Orange production is likely to decrease by 20% this year after a disease attack, said Citrus Research Institute Director Altafur Rehman, according to a press release on Monday. He said that kinnow orchids stretched over 220,000 acres of the district and yielded one million ton annually however, a fatal disease attacked the farms this year. He said that the disease was caused by excessive humidity after heavy rains in the area and decreased the freshness of the fruit whereas its cover cracked and developed fungus inside it. The horticulture officer said that the institute was taking steps to check the disease. Heavy rains had also severely affected vegetable sowing and damaged crops cultivated this month; hampering production and resultantly pushing the prices for the autumn vegetables up, according to agriculture experts. Kinnow exports were expected to reach $100 million this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2012.