Mango trees face thrip infestation

Mango orchards in Telangana flourish this season but face thrips infestations; experts recommend management practices for farmers.

This year, mango trees in full bloom have caught the attention of many. According to farmers and horticulture officials, this was due to low temperatures during winter nights.

However, mango trees in the orchards in some regions are facing a pest threat. Thrip — a tiny insect that feeds on leaves and panicles — in several orchards in Kollapur, Nagarkurnool and many other places in Telangana, is hampering the fruit’s growth.

Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticulture University faculty suggested measures to protect the orchards from these pests.

A farmer, Balraju, said that a major portion of his six-acre land in Nagarkurnool district is infested with thrips. “This happened despite me taking a lot of care,” he said. His was one of the farms the university team checked a few days ago.

Thrips do not attack the fruit set (transition from flower to fruit), but damage the fruitlet (tiny green mango). The infestation will be more in those mango orchards where sunlight penetration is less due to overlapping of branches of other trees creating shade. These conditions are generally seen in big and more than 20-year-old orchards, especially in Mahabubnagar, as per a press note from the University. The faculty suggested mango orchards to be pruned regularly for adequate light penetration and to prevent humidity, which are conducive for the infestation.

Farmers were also advised to go for inter cultivation to bring out the pupa in soil. The faculty has recommended plant growth regulators, fungicide, pesticide and nutrition that has to be provided to the trees to protect and increase the fruit size.