Pollution dampens Kesar mango production

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Pollution Dampens Kesar Mango Production in Kutch

Export of Kesar mango from Saurashtra and central Gujarat may be crossing new barriers but the same cannot be said about those grown in the arid Kutch region and one of the main reasons is birds and bees story. This year’s crop of Kesar mangoes from Kutch region will be not only delayed but its production would also be hit as air pollution in Kutch district has affected population of honeybees, an essential factor for natural process of fertilisation through pollination.

Total production of honey in the border district of Kutch has decreased from 500 tonnes to just 50 tonnes per annum and it has adversely affected mango crop, said Batuksinhji Jadeja of Village Moti Mau of Mandvi taluka in Kutch. Mr Jadeja, mango orchard owner, is considered as a one of the pioneers in export of mangoes from the district. This year production of mango has decreased by over 40,000 tonnes comparison with last year, he added.

The other culprit behind less Kesar mango production is industrial pollution in Kutch.
Kesar mangoes are likely to reach markets only around first week of June, about a month late. Untimely rains and cold wave have also played a villainous role as far as production of mangoes is concerned. Earlier, around mid-April, for over 50 days at a stretch, packs of Kutchi Kesar could be seen reaching to Bhuj Airport, ports at Kandla and Mundra.

"Traders from African countries and also from Britain and the USA were seen handling cargo of Kutchi Kesar, but this year producers have so far not decided whether to export or not. If we would get good prices for Kesar mangoes, we would prefer to sell in local market", said Mr Jadeja. Surprisingly, the wholesale market is yet to receive even the first supply of these mangoes from the orchards in Kutch district or Talala in Junagadh,” said Arvind Gor a wholesale fruit merchant.

According to mango growers, it will take a week more before they can pluck the mangoes. They also believe that the fruit has been badly affected because of vanishing honeybees. Smokes from factories spread all over the district has dwindled the number of honeybees “Mango flowers, locally known as `mor’ and the fruits could not be sprouted as the fertilisation process through pollination could not be carried out by honeybees, and finally unseasonal rain played spoilsports. In the beginning, flowers were seen before the season but due to severe cold, the temperature fell to 6 degree from 15, which resulted in the failure of the crop,” he added.

Last year there was a huge demand of our mangoes in the international market but, this year, we don’t expect that we will be able to supply the mangoes, said Mr Jadeja. Kesar trees require cool temperature at night with warm sunlight for the fruit to grow, before ripening, but Kutch district has been experiencing strange weather for the past many month.

Even in the first week of May, the maximum temperature of this border region has been hovering between 34 and 37 degrees, which is below five to six degree centigrade than normal temperature.