Late flowering to yield more mangoes this time?

BANGALORE: Mango growers in Kolar and Chikkaballapur district are taken aback with this year’s unusual start to the mango growth in State. According to the farmers, for the first time in 25 years, the old mango trees have began to flower. “It is equally surprising and shocking to see old trees flowering during this time of the year. Though the mango production has not happened in the last one year, old trees are flowering so late,” said Srinivas Gowda, president of Mango Growers Association in Chintamani. Gowda opines that if the late flowering is destroyed by unexpected showers or insecticides, the fruit yield might be less this year.  “There are reports that crops are being destroyed in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu due to bad climatic conditions. This might result in higher prices of mangoes in Karnataka,” he added. “If not equal to  last year’s production, we hope at least close to 80 per cent of last year’s growth will be seen even this year.”Additional Director of Horticulture department, S V Hittalamani, had earlier said the target production was 3 lakh tonnes of mangoes from within the state. However, with the new development he raised the target to 5 lakh tonnes.“There is a need for detailed research on climate change impact on mango growth,” said Hittalamani. Severe cold and drought lead to physiological stress to the trees, which results in more produce,” the officer gave details.