Bad news for mango lovers! Production down by 70% in UP, say growers - Here's why

Unusually high temperature during the flowering season in February and March this year has hit the mango crop, mango growers said as quoted by PTI.

Lucknow: In some bad news for people who are fond of Lucknowi Dussehri and other varieties of mangoes, the production of the king of the fruits has been hit by around 70 per cent in the mango belt of Uttar Pradesh due to adverse weather conditions this year, according to growers.The prices of the pulpy fruit are also expected to soar this summer season due to low production, they said.

"The production of mangoes in Uttar Pradesh ranged from 35 to 45 lakh metric tonnes every year, but this time production of 10-12 lakh metric tonnes is expected. Therefore, mango will be sold in the market at a very high price and people fond of mango will have to spend more money," Mango Growers Association of India President Insram Ali told PTI.

Unusually high temperature during the flowering season in February and March this year has hit the mango crop, Ali said. A maximum temperature of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius is required during the flowering season but this year the temperature soared to 40 degrees Celsius in March itself, damaging the mango flowers, he added.

Malihabad of Lucknow is the major centre of mango production and its Dussehri mango is famous all over the world for its flavour.

Mohammad Naseem, a mango grower from Malihabad, said that he has never seen such a bad mango crop in his entire life. "Thousands of mango growers of UP have suffered a setback due to the destruction of the mango crop," he said.