AGRICULTURE
Mango production is expected to nosedive this year due to several factors, including climate change and infestations. The king of fruits has been severely affected by abrupt weather changes and loss of flowers in Sindh.
Growers, keeping an eye over the emerging situation believe the recent rains and snowfall in Northern Areas of Pakistan, caused strong cold winds in mango growing areas of Sindh, destroying the flowers on trees.
Information gathered through growers and researchers reveals that in spring - February to early March – mango trees begin flowering. However, this year, sudden temperature rise and then snowfall in up in the north of the country also brought cold weather in Sindh, damaging flowers on the mango trees. This, growers say will not only cause loss of production but also affect the quality of the mango fruit.
Farmers believe that the climate of Sindh gets warmer about one month earlier than Punjab. This gives the farmers of Sindh an edge over the plains of Punjab, and they produce the early varieties of mango.
Flowering on the mango trees appears in February-March as the cold weather begins to recede earlier in Sindh. This also results in the produce hitting the markets earlier, usually in the month of May. The fruit remains in the markets till late August and September.
There are more than 1,300 varieties of mango, which are cultivated in the Sub-continent. In Sindh, there are more than 125 varieties of this major fruit.
The major mango growing districts of Sindh include Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, and Sanghar districts. While in the province of Punjab, mango growing districts include Multan, Bahawalpur, Muzzaffargarh, and Rahimyar Khan.
Professor M Ismail Kumbhar of the Sindh Agriculture University, who is also a researcher, pointed out that mango orchards this year have come under stress during the peak flowering season due to climate change.
According to him, spring boosts mango flowering. But due to rains and snowfall in the northern areas of the country, cold winds also swept here in the southern province, damaging mango flowers in the early stage of development.
“This is a warning sign for us. It is unusual and we should be vigilant now as climate change can strike the produce at any stage, further damaging the final outcome of this year’s production,” said Professor Kumbhar, while warning farmers and those who love the king of fruits.
Sindh is experiencing cloudy weather, with considerable day and night temperature variations, increased humidity, and changed wind direction is affecting this major agricultural product.
Another problem is infestation. The professor mentioned the wild bark beetle that is spreading in mango orchards and wreaking havoc on the trees. “The bark beetles from the riverine forest areas have migrated to Sindh and are creating an alarming situation in the mango orchards,” the professor informed of the gloomy situation.
As the forests disappeared and beetles ran out of dead trees to infest, wild bark beetles began migrating to the lower plains. “The beetle enters the trunk and causes the tree to die within a few days. This has killed millions of mango trees in the main growing districts during recent years,” he added.
Kumbhar said farmers are yet to understand the situation to devise mechanisms to fight this infestation.
In some areas farmers have adopted indigenous practices to avoid loss of trees. “They apply lime paste on the tree trunks to avoid infestations, but often it is not effective. They also use Bordeaux mixture (copper sulfate and slaked lime) to prevent infestations of downy mildew, powdery mildew and other fungi,” Professor Kumbhar said.
The decline in mango production is not as sudden however. There are reports saying that the devastating floods in 2011 had destroyed millions of trees in orchards in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Sanghar districts. Since then there have been reports of frequent deaths of mango orchards due to various reasons, mainly stagnant floodwater, salinity and water logging.
During the last 16 years from 1999 to 2015, the province of Sindh has experienced cyclones, drought, heavy rains, floods, earthquake, and various wind storms that created havoc not only in the coastal areas but also the fertile plains of the province.
This has also impacted the mango growing districts of the province, reducing production and quality of mangoes.
Pakistan produces one million tons of mangoes annually, and Sindh contributes 50 percent of the product. Multan and Mirpurkhas are the major contributors of mango in the country. Mirpurkhas hosts a mango festival every year, as it produces many species, the most famous of which is Sindhri. It is in demand in the foreign markets due to its sweet taste. This mango species was brought by father of late prime minister Muhammad Khan Junejo from Bombay long ago. It was cultivated at his family farms in Sindhri. Now this specie has got its own recognition because of its taste and colour due to soil and suitable temperature for its growth.
It is due to the Sindhri mango and other such varieties that the festival in Mirpurkhas attracts traders, farmers and researchers, where they observe the various mangoes.
However, the current situation is alarming for all these stakeholders. The rising threat of rapidly changing weather patterns, increase in pest attacks, lack of mitigation technologies, and outbreak of different diseases has disturbed the stakeholders.
The worst affected would be the farmers, traders and workers. Declined production would mean a huge financial loss for the mango producing sector as well as the regional buyers and exporters who earned $60 million last year by exporting 100,000 tons of the produce.
Mango is one of the most widely cultivated and popular fruits in the world for its economic and nutritional values. It is cultivated in Southeast Asia – the Philippines, Indonesia, Java, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Pakistan ranks fifth in mango producing countries of the world.
It is necessary for the government to now formulate a plan to conduct research and find ways to mitigate the effects of climate change on the product. Experts fear there is no immediate solution to the problems faced by the producers of mangoes and if left unattended, the situation will further deteriorate.
Pakistan stands to lose export orders for mangoes if infestations are not handled properly, which will further jeopardise the rural economy of not only Sindh, but Punjab as well.
Farmers should be made aware of the mango orchard management practices, including integrated plant nutrition management and flower management to avoid loss.
The writer is a staff member
