VIJAYAWADA: Dropping of fruit caused by sudden summer gales has become the latest reason for the drastic reduction in the yield of mango in this season.

Horticulture experts say that an average of 24 per cent of the estimated total yield of 1,32,500 tonnes, at an expected average of 2.5 tonnes a hectare, was lost when sudden summer gales contributed to the dropping of fruit, which was not yet ready for harvesting, in 19 mandals in Krishna district. The percentage of the fruit that dropped due to the gales ranged from a minimum of 20 per cent to a maximum of 40 per cent.

Farmers in 10 mandals of Vijayawada revenue division and nine of Nuzvid division were estimated to have suffered a loss of Rs. 13.25 crores due to the dropping of the fruit. Mango is cultivated in 62,270 hectares in Krishna district, and the yield crosses the 5-lakh-tonne mark in a year when the crop is good. The yield last year ranged between 2.75 lakh tonnes and 3 lakh tonnes, as per an estimate of the Horticulture Department.

This year, the department has projected an all-time low yield of 1.33 lakh tonnes and listed several reasons for the same. The heavy rains caused by the Ogni cyclone led to a spurt in vegetative growth and delay in flowering. The hot weather affected the sex ratio of plants, causing more male flowers to bloom.

Since only female flowers form into fruit, there was a drastic drop in `fruit setting'. Only 53 per cent of `fruit setting' was observed in the case of Banganapalli (Benishan), 52 per cent in the case of Totapuri (Collector) and 55 per cent in all the other varieties of mango cultivated in the district.

After the formation of fruit, fog, in combination with pollution, became `smog' (smoke and fog) and unusually affected the growth of the fruit in grooves within the 25-km radius of the city. Where the fruits should have reached the size of an egg, they suffered a stunted growth and ended up in the size of a peanut.

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