Himachal: Weather vagaries take a bite out of Kangra mango crop

The sharpest impact has been felt in the district’s major mango-producing belts. Indora, the leading mango-producing block, is expected to record 6,000 MT this year, against 10,124 MT last year. In Nurpur, production has fallen from 2,480 MT to 1,600 MT, while Nagrota Surian is expected to produce 1,500 MT compared with 2,481 MT last year.

Kamalsheel Negi, Joint Director (Horticulture), North Zone, attributed the decline largely to weather disruptions during March and April, when mango trees pass through the critical flowering and fruit-setting stages.

“Mango requires dry, sunny weather and warm temperatures during flowering and fruit setting. Excessive humidity and rain during this stage can trigger diseases and drastically reduce yields,” Negi said.

The weather-related setback has also hit other major mango-growing districts. Una, where the crop is cultivated over around 2,300 hectares, is expected to produce about 2,000 MT this year, sharply down from 8,990 MT last year.

Hamirpur, another important mango-growing district with around 3,500 hectares under the crop, is expected to record production of only 1,200 MT this year, compared with 1,600 MT last year.

Often described as the “king of fruits”, mango is predominantly cultivated in the lower areas of Himachal Pradesh, with Kangra being the state’s largest mango-producing district. The crop is also grown extensively in Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Sirmaur and parts of Mandi.

Dashehari, Langra and Chausa are the principal mango varieties grown in Kangra. The Horticulture Department is also promoting newer hybrid varieties, including Pusa Arunima, Pusa Lalima, Pusa Surya, Pusa Shreshtha, Pusa Manohari, Malika and Amrapali, to diversify cultivation and improve productivity.

Kangra Deputy Director of Horticulture Alaksh Pathania said the district horticulture department was the first in the state to introduce hybrid, high-yielding varieties. These late-maturing varieties fetch premium prices in the market and could help bolster the local fruit economy.

He said the department had raised around 2,089 plants of the Pusa series in private and government field demonstrations during 2021-22 in the Nurpur block. Of these, about 513 saplings were distributed among local farmers.

The trees have begun bearing fruit this season, with Pusa Arunima, Pusa Lalima and Pusa Manohari emerging as the top-performing varieties. Pathania added that 970 additional saplings had been propagated this year using budwood sourced directly from these demonstration orchards.