Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
In Marathwada, the highest cultivation of sweet lime (mosambi) is found in Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts. Due to the recent heavy rainfall, nearly 25,000 hectares of mosambi orchards in the district have been damaged.
Fruit drop has already begun in the orchards of flood-affected villages. On the other hand, in orchards where water has stagnated and proper drainage is not available, the roots of the trees may rot and the orchards could dry up, experts have warned. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has around 25,000 hectares under mosambi cultivation, including 8,000 hectares in Paithan tehsil. Mosambi trees, which farmers carefully nurture for five years, begin to bear fruit thereafter. About 20,000 hectares of orchards in the district have reached the fruit-bearing stage.
Many farmers had already entered into sale agreements with traders. Some traders were scheduled to harvest the fruits during Diwali, while some had even begun harvesting.
However, continuous heavy rains for the past ten days have shattered the expectations of mosambi orchard farmers in the district. Farmers in Paithan tehsil, in particular, have been hit the hardest. For the past ten days, water has been standing in the orchards, and with no drainage coupled with ongoing rains, large-scale fruit drop is taking place. This has caused losses worth crores to the growers. If the waterlogging continues for a few more days, the roots of the fruit trees will begin to decay. Subsequently, the trees will turn yellow, and farmers may be left with no option but to uproot their orchards.
“Due to excessive rainfall, fruit drop is occurring in all mosambi orchards. This will lead to financial losses for farmers. If water remains stagnant in the orchards for long, the trees will turn yellow and eventually dry up. The soil in mosambi orchards should always have proper way to let out the stagnant water,” said the Director of Sweet Lime Research Centre (Isarwadi-Paithan) Ramnath Karale.