Misty March lends bumper mango yield

Favourable weather conditions in the flowering and fruit set months of December and March have facilitated the 50% flowering seen in mango orchards across the the undivided Anantapur and Kurnool districts this year

The inclusion of mango plantation works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) for the past 10 to 12 years has yielded fruitful results in the undivided Anantapur and Kurnool districts.

A remarkable growth can be observed in the number of hectares where mango cultivation is taken up in both districts. The conducive soil and weather conditions have also come as an added advantage.

The weather conditions were favourable in December last year, resulting in early flowering and fruit set in the mango orchards.

The misty weather that prevailed in the first half of March this year was a pleasant surprise for the mango farmers, which allowed the trees to have another spell of flowering and fruit set.

The third week of March saw minimum temperatures ranging from 15 °C to 17 °C in Sri Sathya Sai and Nandyal Districts, resulting in a bumper crop yield. 

Horticulture Officer Chandrasekhar tells The Hindu that Mango is cultivated across 21,000 hectares in the Sri Sathya Sai District, and around 50% flowering was observed.

Mr. Chandrashekhar says that 95% of the mango cultivation in the district was dedicated to growing the Benishan or Banaganapalli variety.