Year 2023 Likely to be Yet Another Failure for Karnataka Mango Growers

For the third year in a row, Karnataka's mango output will be impacted by the whims of the weather. Flowering and fruit setting have been negatively affected by excessive heat in February and untimely rain in December.

After two years of low yields, farmers anticipated a decent yield this year. The state may only receive 70 per cent of the season's mango yield, according to sources in the Horticulture Department and the Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Limited (KSMDMCL).

Officials worry that the fruits' quality may be impacted by the winter's shortened duration.

The Horticulture Department states that fruits from Ramanagara should have been available in the local markets by now, however, the blossoms withered as a result of untimely rain and the blight disease.

After Kolar, Ramanagara has the second-highest concentration of mango orchards. 50 per cent of the state's mangoes are grown in Kolar.

The second and third flowering stages have begun, and by May, we should ideally have the fruits, they added.

In Karnataka, mangoes are cultivated on more than 1.60 lakh hectares. An output of 14 lakh tonnes is anticipated in a typical year. However, an estimated 10 lakh tonnes of mango crops are anticipated because of the flower wilting that occurs between December and February.

Mangoes were grown on 1.30 lakh hectares of soil last year, but only 7 to 8 lakh tonnes could be harvested. In the last five years, the state has produced an average of 12 lakh tonnes of mangoes.