Mango season turns sour in Coimbatore, nearby districts as yields drop by 50%

COIMBATORE: It was supposed to be a season of sweetness, but for mango farmers in Coimbatore and surrounding districts, this year's harvest has brought only bitterness due to crop failure and financial despair.

Mango farmers claim they have witnessed a catastrophic drop in yield of nearly 50 per cent this year. Unpredictable weather, ranging from scorching heat to unseasonal rains, dealt a double blow to the ‘King of Fruits’, leaving orchards bare and farmers reeling under a major financial burden.

Speaking to DT Next, K Baskar, who owns Kowmara Mango Farms in Andipatty village near Palani, said that while weather plays a major role in determining yield, unexpected rains during the flowering season, coupled with high daytime temperatures and dew at night, ruined much of the crop this year.

“The end of February, which marks the flowering season, turned out to be unusually hot, leading to poor pollination and resulting in barely 50 per cent of the yield compared to last year,” he said.

Weather woes slash mango yields

Farmers said average productivity has plummeted to a paltry 3-5 tonnes per hectare this year from 9-10 tonnes per hectare. The losses were particularly frustrating as preparations for the harvest began as early as August with pruning and monitoring of the southwest monsoon, only for farmers to face erratic weather in the months that followed.

While some farms escaped poor pollination and enjoyed a decent flowering season, the initial promise wilted under extreme heatwave conditions, causing large numbers of tender flowers to drop before they could develop into fruit. Just as the surviving fruits began to mature, unseasonal heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds hit several western districts, including Theni, Dindigul and the Cauvery delta region, during the last week of April and early May.

The fluctuating weather patterns created a conducive environment for pests and fungal attacks, with many farmers reporting a surge in anthracnose infections, a fungal disease that causes fruits to rot prematurely.

"Apart from the bad weather, we also ended up losing a lot of our fruits to pest infestations. Despite shelling a lot of money on pesticides this year, many of the trees did not survive the infestations, and their fruits had to be disposed of," rued S Ramanan, who owns a large mango farm in Jamunampathy, near Anamalai.

He added that while he previously had to spray pesticides only a couple of times a year, this year he was forced to spray them five to six times, costing him a fortune just to keep the trees alive.

Low prices deepen mango farmers' crisis

While the market was flooded with mangoes last year, this season has brought a different challenge, with many farmers being forced to sell their produce at a rock-bottom price of just Rs 2 per kg, which is less than the cost of plucking the fruit.

"Despite a significantly lower harvest this season, procurement prices offered by major pulp and pickle factories remain shockingly low, ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 5 per kg. Since we can't even pay our labourers with that kind of money, we have decided to leave the fruits unharvested on the trees," said Ramanan.

Farm owner Baskar further argued that while premium mango varieties such as Imam Pasand, Banganapalli and Alphonso continue to command high prices in retail markets, fetching anywhere between Rs 90 and Rs 250 per kg, farmers are repeatedly offered low prices for their produce, adding to their financial burden.

"If some of our labourers want to take the fruits for free after plucking them from the trees, we let them. There is no point in paying for harvesting and transporting the fruits only to be paid peanuts in the market," said Ramanan.

When asked how he plans to tackle the issue next year, Baskar said the outlook remains bleak, with warnings of El Niño-related weather conditions. "Weather experts are predicting extreme heat along with unseasonal rainfall in many places. We are planning to adopt precision farming techniques, carry out mulching around the trees and ensure that the water table does not decline alarmingly, so that we can minimise the impact of these conditions," he said. A few mango farmers also said the losses have forced them to consider crop rotation and diversify into other crops until the situation changes.

The crisis extends beyond the farms, as the mango economy supports the livelihoods of traders, truckers and factory workers, while also generating export revenue. However, with this year's abysmal yield, affected farmers are calling for immediate relief measures, including a Minimum Support Price (MSP) per kilogram and a direct subsidy mechanism similar to those implemented in other states.