Heat wave casts shadow over orange cultivation

PUNE: Farmers in Vidarbha are worried that production of the famous Nagpur oranges might fall in the next season which begins in September due to the prevailing high temperatures coupled with water and electricity shortages.

���About 20% trees in orange orchards in the Nagpur and Amravati divisions in Vidarbha have dried up due to day temperatures ranging above 45 degrees Celsius. Coupled with this is the lowering of ground water levels in this heat and the absence of electricity to pump the available water,��� said Shridhar Thakre, chairman, Mahaorange, an orange growers co-operative society in the state.

Going by Mr Thakre���s views, this would be a second consecutive poor season for orange growers of the region since they had a bad season in April. There are two seasons of orange harvest, the first being September-October called aambe bahar and the second from January till mid-April called mrig bahar. In 2008, the entire mrig bahar season was wiped out, probably the first time in the history of the crop due to the dry spell in June, when the monsoon took a break.

���We got only about 3-5% production in that season, which usually accounts for 60% of the total orange production in a year,��� said Mr Thakre. The state government has already disbursed Rs 56 crore as compensation to affected orange growers. Maharashtra leads the country in orange production and almost the entire 1.3 lakh hectare area under this crop in the state is concentrated in the Vidarbha.

Government officials are sceptical about the likelihood of a poor harvest in the forthcoming season, claiming that the region usually witnesses temperatures in the mid-40 degrees Celsius.

���We have not observed any drying up of orange orchards. Also, temperatures here have not been unusually high in Vidarbha this summer,��� PN Pokale, joint director, agriculture, Amaravati division, said.

The met department in Pune also upheld the Amravati-based government official���s view, with Medha Khole, director (weather forecast), India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, saying, The summer temperatures in Vidarbha have not been unusually high.���