Weather plays villainous role

​Vijayawada: While this year’s summer harvest of mangoes stands at 30 per cent only, the Roanu cyclone has brought additional woes to the farmers. Sudden thunderstorm with gusty winds on Wednesday night further hit the whatever crop remained.

Many parts of the district had rainfall on Wednesday night ending a long wait for showers. However, it damaged the final yield of mangoes. The season for the king of fruits has come to an end with a disappointing note for both farmers and public.

The sudden and strong downpour led to a hike of price of available crop which is not at all pocket friendly for a majority of people. A dozen of Banginapalli variety of mangoes, costing Rs 250 to Rs 400, is now being sold at Rs 500 to Rs 600 depending on size and quality.

Juicy varieties (rasalu) are being sold at Rs 400 to Rs 500 a dozen. Demand for juicy varieties is high since the beginning of the season owing to its taste and limited availability.

A tonne of Banginapalli variety is priced between Rs 35,000 to Rs 45,000 and the Totapuri variety prices ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.

Pest problem, which further reduced the yield, added to the woes of farmers. This year’s harvest is at its fag end, and can only last 15 more days but people hardly have enough of it.

K Suvarna, a working woman, said, “Mangoes are always the fruits one aspires. No quality variety is available in the market. Even fruits available in March are not up to the mark.

We waited for good fruits which normally hit the markets in May. It feels like we have not tasted this time adequately. Now, the season has come to an end without offering the best of it. Not even the green mangoes are available in stock to make pickles.”