Extreme climates take a toll on crops

MADURAI: S K Muthusangiah, a farmer in his 50s had spent thousands of rupees on his mango farm with the hope that this year the returns will be handsome to pay off his debts after three years of arid climate.
Hailing from Bodi region in Theni district, considered a mango belt along with Periakulam, the hopes of Muthusangiah and other farmers were proceeding smoothly till heavy showers lashed the region in the last week of March.The trees that were full of flowers suffered damage and would not get fetch even half the expected price. "Misfortune strike farmers in a row. After three years drought, we thought we are going to have a bumper harvest but rains played havoc. I am just wondering how to pay off the debts or even interest amount on loans," the farmer said.
If it was rain that impacted some farmers, for others like S Rajkapoor of Natham in Dindigul district, a prominent mango cultivating region, the scorching heat has ruined their luck. "If there is no rain in the next 15 days, entire mango crop in the region will be lost. The heat is unusual for the beginning of April and excessive day time temperature simply withers away the flowers," he lamented.
Mango farmers are not harvesting ripened mangos from trees. Leaving them to mature will destroy the tree as fruits will consume lot of water and nutrients. "The situation is very miserable and we are clueless as to how to save the trees," he said. Like farmers, wholesale merchants who have taken mango farms on lease are also facing big trouble since they cannot realise returns from the yields.
The situation is no better for grape or banana farmers as well. Cumbum valley in Theni district is known for its grapes as nearly 4,000 acres of grapes are cultivated while banana is cultivated across many districts in large scale. "Unable to bear the heat, the grapes are not maturing into fruits and we have to sell the unripe ones for a paltry sums. I have not seen such harsh April days before," said Pon Katchikannan, a grape farmer in Surulipatti in Cumbum valley.
Last three year's drought shrunk 10,000 acre large grape fields into 4,000 and the remaining ones are also facing an uncertain future. "Even the pruned wines are not flowering properly," he added.
Banana crop is better this year but the fruits ripe pretty fast putting vendors in trouble. S Kesavan, president of Banana Traders Association in Madurai said the weather is makes the banana skins turn black in a short time. "Though the fruit is tasty, black peels turn off customers who assume that the fruit is stale. As a result, the banana crop though adequate in supply get stagnated and farmers bear the brunt of very poor prices," he added.
Taking a beating
Natham (Dindigul) and Bodi and Periakulam in Theni are called the mango belt with 6,000 to 7,000 hectares in each region
This is in addition to 6,000 more hectares of mango cultivated in Madurai district's Alanganallur, Vadipatti, Melur regions
While sudden downpour has affected the crop in Theni, lack of rains and unusual summer heat is withering the mango flowers in Dindigul and Madurai districts
The vineyards of Cumbum valley have shrunk from 10,000 acres to 4,000 due to drought and irregular weather affecting the yield as grapes are not ripening
Madurai banana market receives as much as 25 tonnes per day from various districts but the skin turns black due to the scorching heat fetching lesser prices to farmers