Dashing hopes of both farmers and lovers of the king of fruits, the mango production in Karnataka this year, which was supposed to be anywhere between 10-14 lakh metric tonnes, has come down to a mere 5 lakh metric tonnes owing to weather factors and pest attacks.
Although flowering was delayed this year, farmers and the Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation (KSMDMC) hoped to get an average yield. However, the extreme heat conditions reversed their expectations.
“This is the worst mango season I have seen in my life. In fields where we were getting 10 tonnes of mangos, we struggled to find 200-250 kgs. As the temperature kept increasing, we had no dew or rain this time, and all our flowers got burnt in the trees before they could set. We went through five rounds of medicines to revive them, but there was no use,” said Chikka Byre Gowda, a mango farmer from Ramanagar district.
