Cloudy sky and spells of rain leave mango, grape growers in Maharashtra in a spot

PUNE: The constant clouding, lack of sunshine and the intermittent spells of rainfall this winter have left mango and grape growers in Maharashtra in trouble.
Cloudy skies have reduced mango flowering by 30% affected mango flowering in parts of Konkan. Cracks have developed in grapes that are in the process of being harvested in Nashik region. Mango growers said rain was expected during the next two to three days in parts of Maharashtra, which may further hamper flowering.The result would be a delay in arrival of mangoes into the markets, with the mango season being pushed to April-May 2021 instead of February-March.
Konkan Mango Growers and Sellers Association chairman Vivek Bhide told TOI, “The mango season has been delayed as the last year’s monsoon prolonged till mid-November. The ongoing winter has not seen much cold that is suitable for flowering. Add to it cloudy skies, high humidity and lack of sunshine. There is less flowering on mango trees. The cloudy weather is likely to make the flowers susceptible to pests and insects. Flowering is currently just 10% as against over 40% in January during usual years.”
Vidyadhar Joshi, director of Devgad Taluka Mango Growers’ Association, said, “The weather since the past three days has been very bad for the flowering process, with cloudy conditions and no sunshine. This can cause fungal infection in fruits and flowers. The trees are also seeing vegetative flush, which delays flowering.”
Joshi said with 10-15 % flowering on mango trees currently, the upcoming rain spell as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast could bring major trouble for the growers. “Mangoes start trickling into the markets by February every year. But this time, the mangoes may reach the market by late April-May,” he said .
Spells of rain and clouding have caused grapes in harvesting stages to develop cracks in many vineyards of Nashik, Satana-Malegaon, Baramati, said Kailash Bhosale, treasurer, Maharashtra Rajya Draksha Bagaitdar Sangh, Pune. Grape harvesting picks up in February and March and has already started in Nashik, Baramati among other locations. “There seems to be a 20% drop in marketable grape harvests after instances of cracking,” he said.