Suggestions for mango farmers

FAISALABAD: Agriculture experts have asked the mango growers to ensure watering of orchards on weekly basis to save plants from hot weather.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Department said on Monday that mango was a precious produce of the country as Pakistan was placed at the seventh among mango producing countries of the world.

He said mango orchards were cultivated over 172,308 acres of land, including 111,432 acres land in Punjab. The total mango production in the country was 2 million metric tons while Punjab shared about 1.3 million metric tons. He said weather temperature started rising speedily in March while humidity also remained very low in the air which was affecting mango fruits badly. He said that normally, 13 to 30 degrees centigrade temperature was required for proper blossom of mango trees but there was 40 degrees centigrade temperature was recorded when mango plants started blooming. This harsh weather condition badly affected the mango plants and their fruits, he added. Therefore, farmers should remain cautious to save their fruits in the harsh weather, he said and added that water should be given to small mango plants after every week. However, this duration can be increased up to 10 days if mango orchards had big trees, he told.

The growers should use pesticides with consultation of horticulture experts to protect mango plants from pest attacks. The farmers should avoid from removing grass from mango orchards and trimming trees during summers, rather they should use soluble potash to increase immunity of plants to fight against severity of the sizzling weather, he added.