TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The recent unseasonal rains could end up as a blessing to the cashew farmers, though to the mango growers it could bring losses, as up to 20% of the mango crop, especially the Mankurad variety, could be lost or infested with worms.
Even as farmers in other parts of the country are tearing out their hair due to crops, such as onions, getting adversely affected due to the sudden downpours earlier this week, cashew farmers are likely to get a bumper crop that could also bring down the prices of cashew nuts.
However, horticulturists and government experts say that the State’s famous Mankurad mangoes face a bleak prospect – of a 20% downturn – and the prospect of getting infested with worms.
However, agriculturists warn that another bout of rain could prove disastrous for both the cashew and mango crop.
“If it rains again, then it will be bad for both cashews and mangoes. As of now, it has rained once. This is good for the cashew plants as it will wipe out all the dry flowers. It will also clear out the key mosquito in cashew and fruit flies in mangoes,” says Olavio Fernandes, deputy Director, department of agriculture (horticulture).
“However, there will definitely be a problem of worms in mangoes especially in the Mankurad crop. With this rain there will be at least a 20 per cent loss in the mango crop,” he cautioned.
Another bout of rain could hit the entire mango crop badly, he said. “I can say that the shower we received will be beneficial for cashews. But if there is another shower then all crops will be affected,” he emphasized.
Horticulturist Miguel Braganza too says that the cashew crop will benefit because of this rain, while the mango crop will suffer.
“This rain will actually help the cashew crop. In fact the produce will be better. Rates will probably come down,” Braganza says. “But for the mango crop it is a problem. Even the early mangoes like Mankurad will have a worm problem. This normally happens to mangoes that get ready during the rains such as Manghilar.” The mango season begins around the end of March or early April and lasts till May.
Goa is famous for its cashew nuts, but it is from the cashew apple that comes the local cup that cheers – cashew feni – and its milder cousin urrak.
In 2013 too, a shower in February had proved to be lucky for cashew farmers in Goa with the yield breaking a 50-year record. However, mango growers this year will struggle to get an average yield.
In 2013, the yield of mangoes was around 6000 tonnes, in 2012, it was around 8000 tonnes and in 2011, 9300 tonnes of mangoes were produced. The average yield is 10,000 tonnes.
Mankurad mango trees are very sensitive to temperature during the flowering period and if the weather is conducive then they bloom bountifully. Mango trees require cold weather conditions during the flowering period. The major supply of Mankurad mangoes comes from Divar, Chorao and Siolim.
Other varieties such as Monseratte, Sacretin, Alfonso, Fernandes and Xavier come from Salcete, Sankhli and other areas in north and south.
The rate of Mankurad mangoes depends upon the size of the fruit with the ‘first’ Mankurad sold at Rs 200 a piece last year. Normally the larger sized mangoes cost around Rs 900 per dozen and smaller fruits fetch Rs 450-500 per dozen.
