Kakinada: Mango farmers demand quality pesticides for better yield

Kakinada: Non-availability of quality pesticides during the flowering period of mango trees is causing lot of troubles, lamented the mango farmers.

In East Godavari district, farmers are cultivating mangoes in 15,000 hectares. A good variety of mango fruit like Kothapalli Kobbari, Panduri Mamidi, Totapuri, Suvarnarekha, Banginapalli, Rasalu are being cultivated and the fruit is now in budding stage.

Most of mango flowers are withered away due to fog and heavy damage caused to the crop. This shattered the hopes of the farmers and worried about the possible loss to mango crop.

Though the weather is conducive for flowering this season, new flowering will take a lot of time. This delay will show a strong impact on production of mangoes in the coming season. Also, the unexpected delay may pose challenges for mango farmers.

Even delayed, the second flowering will not sustain the quality of the fruit.

To prevent the withering of the flowers, farmers have to spray pesticides. Though pesticides are available in the market, the cost is exorbitant. And farmers are afraid of using low quality pesticides as they will further damage the crop.

Few farmers complained that the pesticides supplied by the government are of very poor quality. Hence, they are purchasing pesticides from private parties for quality. But the farmers demanded that the government should supply quality pesticides, so that they can escape from loans and debts and get profits.

A farmer, Nageswar Rao, said that they have to spend a lot of money for the second time flowering.

Kanireddy Raju, a farmer from Tetagunta in Tuni mandal of East Godavari district, told The Hans India that he is cultivating mangoes in 50 acres in Tetagunta. He alleged that the government has not supported mango farmers in any way to survive or save the

crop and also is not taking any efforts to market their product.

"We will get Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 only after spending Rs 40,000 per acre. And never can get a profit of Rs one lakh," he added. The crops are now at flowering stage and we are facing pesticide problems, he said. Raju said that they have to use pesticides worth Rs 600 to Rs 3,500 per acre and they have use costly pesticides for good yield.

The farmer said the pesticides supplied by the government are no use. They couldn't invest on buying expensive ones as they have already invested a large amount in the early stages of mango cultivation.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Kannababu stated that there is no shortage of fertilisers and pesticides anywhere in the district. He alleged that some people were trying to create artificial shortage of urea. The Minister warned that stringent action will be taken against traders, if they create artificial shortage in the State. Agriculture and Irrigation officials were advised to be available at field level and supply fertilisers only as per the instructions of the authorities.

Speaking with The Hans India, Horticulture Deputy Director S Ram Mohan said that cultivation is being made in the clusters of Jaggampeta, Tuni and Korukonda in the district. Farmers are cultivating mango in 4,794 hectares in Tuni, 2,566 ha in Tondangi and 2,650 ha in Kotananduru and other mandals in the district and a total of 13,000 hectares of mango fields in the district, he informed. Ram Mohan said that at present the flowering of Banganaplli is estimated at 30%, Suvarnarekha 80%, Panduri Mamidi 60%, Totapuri 50% and Rasalu 40%. He clarified that there is no shortage of pesticides in the district and also available at RBK centers.