Contrary to expectations, Karnataka's mango yield drops again due to harsh weather

In a disappointing development, the mango yield in Karnataka has gone down this year as well, owing to the vagaries of weather. While the technical expert committee had earlier predicted the yield to be around 12 lakh to 14 lakh metric tonnes, now the prediction has come down to around 8 lakh to 10 lakh metric tonnes.
Mangoes, which require chill weather with dew during the flowering phase, faced the opposite this year. 'The flowering was not good in January this year because of the harsh temperature of around 33 to 34 degrees Celsius in the fields. Due to this, the fruit did not set properly, while new shoots also came out. When shoots come out, it leads to food competition between fruit and vegetative growth,' C.G. Nagaraju, managing director, Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation (KSMDMC), told The Hindu.
Pest infestation reduces
While in the previous year, pest infestation was a big problem, the Mango Board claims that this year, it has reduced. 'The tree hoppers, which generally pose a big problem, were not there much this time. The diseases are less prevalent as we had issued technical guidelines earlier, and farmers had taken prophylactic measures. Thus, we thought it would be an on year, but due to high temperature, it became an off year again,' Mr. Nagaraju added.
The farmers have not seen a profitable year for a long time now, at least four to five years, due to infestation and weather problems. This year's losses have pushed them further into economic losses.
'Our mango yield is down by almost 70% this time across the district. Temperature changes affect trees greatly as they are very sensitive during the flowering and fruit setting phase. Every year, our losses are mounting up,' said Dharanish Kumar, president, Kanakapura and Channapatna Mango Growers' Association.
Mangoes arrive in market
The Sendhoora, Raspuri, Badami (Alphonso), and Banganpalli mango varieties from Ramanagara district have hit the markets, while the fruits from Kolar are expected to arrive by the first fortnight of May. The selling price of mangoes in Bengaluru is north of ₹150 per kg currently.
The mangoes arrive in the market in three phases — early arrivals, mid arrivals and late arrivals. 'The arrivals will be steady this time as the season itself has started early. The season is likely to go on till the end of July or even August,' said Mr. Nagaraju.
Order online from today
The Mango Board's online portal, Karsiri, on which consumers can place orders for mangoes directly from farmers, will be ready to take orders from Tuesday, April 22. Once the orders are placed, they will be delivered to the doorstep of the consumers via India Post.
The popular Mango Mela, which is held in Lalbagh Botanical Garden every year, will be organised in May.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Hindu

2 hours ago

• The Hindu

Watch: What does 'feels like' temperature on your phone actually indicate?

Hello and welcome to The Hindu. I am Priyali Prakash, and you're watching Tipping Point, where we discuss highlights of climate news. Our main story this week is heat index – something that is extremely crucial in Indian summers, and why understanding it can save your life. So, what does the 'feels like' temperature on your phone actually indicate? Scientists refer to this as the apparent temperature. It considers not only the actual air temperature but also the humidity to show what your body truly experiences.

India Today

3 hours ago

• India Today

Rain, storm likely to hit Delhi; weather department issues yellow alert

A 'yellow' alert has been issued for light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds at speeds of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour in Delhi, the weather department national capital recorded a maximum temperature of 36.2 degrees Celsius, 1.3 notches below the seasonal average, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) minimum temperature settled at 28.4 degrees Celsius, while the relative humidity stood at 78% at 5.30 The city received 0.1 mm of light rainfall accompanied by wind on Saturday (June 21, 2025).According to the weather department, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 34 degrees Celsius while the minimum is expected to settle at 27 degrees air quality was recorded in the "satisfactory" category at 4 p.m. on Sunday (June 22, 2025), with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 98, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.Must Watch IN THIS STORY#Delhi

Indian Express

5 hours ago

• Indian Express

Rapid warming, extreme weather hit Asia hard in 2024, killing thousands and impacting economies: report

With its average temperature 1.04 degree Celsius above the last 30-year average, 2024 ranked as Asia's warmest to second warmest year on record, owing to different dataset interpretations, and its warming was nearly twice as fast as the global average, said a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The impacts of this high rate of warming in 2024 manifested through a range of extreme weather events, such as 29 tropical cyclones, prolonged and intense heat waves, and extreme rainfall events, that together killed thousands. These weather events also caused substantial losses to local communities and economies at large. 'The warming trend between 1991-2024 was almost double of that during the 1961-1990 period,' said the State of Climate in Asia 2024 report. The report is prepared by WMO in collaboration with regional and international meteorological organisations. 'Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,' said Professor Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, WMO. She added that the report highlights how changes in key climate indicators such as surface temperature, glacier mass and sea level will have major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region. The surface temperatures were warmer than average for almost the entire region, the WMO report said, and they were particularly above average from western China to Japan, over the Indochina Peninsula, the Middle East and central northern Siberia. Japan, for instance, experienced its warmest year on record, exceeding the previous record set in 2023. The region was hit by intense land heat waves as well as marine heat waves. East Asia saw prolonged heatwaves from April to November, and monthly average temperature records were shattered in Japan, the Republic of Korea and China. In India, extreme heatwaves caused over 450 deaths across the country, the report said. India also saw deadly lightning events, killing about 1,300 people across the country. Among tropical cyclones, Yagi was the strongest and deadliest in 2024. It impacted the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, and according to estimates, the damages ran into billions of dollars. The northern Indian Ocean, which is adjacent to Japan and the Yellow and East China seas, faced particularly severe or extreme intensity of marine heatwaves. In terms of its extent, marine heatwaves created a record in 2024, impacting an area of nearly 15 million square kilometres. While four tropical cyclones – Remal, Fengal, Dana – made landfall in the Indian sub-continent and killed about 90 people, Cyclone Asna, originating from the Arabian Sea, caused flooding in Gujarat and killed about 50 people. In terms of rainfall, above normal rain was observed in the Arabian desert, Balochistan, parts of Myanmar, certain islands in Japan and even in the Siberian plains. Very heavy rainfall affected western Asia in mid-April, with daily rainfall in some areas exceeding the long-term annual average rainfall. The Dubai airport received 162.88 mm in 36 hours on 15 and 16 April, including 142 mm on April 16. Meanwhile, Pakistan recorded its wettest April, and India witnessed the deadly rain-triggered landslide in Kerala's Wayanad district. Over 500 mm of rainfall in 48 hours was said to be one of the chief causes of the disaster, which killed over 350 people. Glaciers continued to lose mass, as per the report, with 23 out of 24 glaciers in the High Mountain Asia region of central-south Asia spanning the Himalayas, Pamir mountains, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush. 'Reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat in the central Himalayas and most of the Tian Shan intensified mass loss for most glaciers. Notably, Urumqi Glacier No. 1, located in eastern Tian Shan, recorded its most negative mass balance since measurements began in 1959,' the report. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More