Nuzvid Banginapalli mango loses glory

Vijayawada: The world famous Nuzvid Banginapalli and Chinna Rasalu mango varieties are losing their glory from decline in production due to reduction in area of cultivation. Krishna district is home for Banginapalli variety and it is the second largest mango producer in the country after Uttar Pradesh. However, it is now losing its sheen gradually as farmers are shifting to other alternative crops due to continuous losses.

According to horticulture department, mango is cultivated on 67,000 hectares in the district but now it has declined to 50,000 hectares. The farmers are cultivating mango nearly in 18 mandals out of total 50 mandals in the district.

• Mango cultivation declined from 67,000 hectares to 50,000 hectares in the district due to unfavourable weather conditions
• Farmers opting alternative crops like oil palm, vegetables and fruits as they incur continuous loses

There is a lot of demand for Chinna Rasaalu in the local markets. Banginapalli has good demand in Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Hong Kong, America, Japan and other European countries. New Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu purchase 60 per cent of mango produce from Krishna district every year.

Though these varieties have huge demand in world markets, the mango farmers are not getting at least its average production and price. The average mango production is eight tonnes per hectare. But every year, the farmers get only 4 tonnes due to adverse climatic conditions. Especially poor rainfall or untimely rainfall have been damaging mango crop production and quality.

The mango cultivation area has declined from 67,000 hectares to 50,000 hectares in Krishna district and the farmers are opting alternative crops like oil palm, vegetables and fruits, said Kottapalli Purnachandra Rao, a farmer and mango exporter of Nuzvid town. Speaking to The Hans India, he said as the farmers are incurring losses from mango cultivation, they are shifting to alternative crops.

Unfavourable weather

The weather conditions are not supportive to mango cultivation this year also, said a mango farmer Vuyyuru Suneel, native of Ravicherla village in Krishna district. Majority of mango trees could not get flowers due to poor rainfall during the last rainy season.

He said that rainfall is very low compared to government’s estimations and its impact is visible on mango cultivation. There is no flowering on 90 per cent of mango trees in Nuzvid area, he said. Flowering starts from November but only 10 per cent of trees have flowers, he said. If the flowering is late the weather will not support for transforming them into mangoes, he said.

By Patibandla Srinivas