Key Points
While mango farmers have already reported massive flower and fruit drop, the sudden and early onset of summer will also adversely affect lychee, citrus fruits, watermelons, bananas, and cashew crops, experts said..
Production of fruits and vegetables in the country may fall up to 30% this season as farmers report damages to their crop due to high temperatures amid the ongoing flowering and fruiting process...
"We estimate that there will be a loss of 10% to 30% for different fruit and vegetable crops in different regions due to the sudden increase in temperatures," said SK Singh, director of Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR), Bengaluru..
Heat Wave may Impact Quality. "The minimum night temperature is higher than usual and the difference between the day and night temperature has narrowed down with the result that there is a lesser opportunity for crops to recover from heat stress (from high day temperature) in the night time," said Praveen Pankajakshan, head of AI Lab at Cropin, a startup providing agricultural intelligence...
"Farmers across the four districts of Konkan have reported massive fruit drop due to the sudden rise in temperatures in February," said Chandrakant Mokal, president of Maharashtra State Mango Growers' Association...
