Climate change hits fruit crops hard in south Gujarat
If the mangoes and the humble chickoos disappear from your fruit basket in coming years, blame it on nothing else but climate change.
Wildly fluctuating climates have started showing their effect on the agriculture of south Gujarat, that too at an alarming rate. This region supplies 55% of mangoes grown in Gujarat and nearly 70% of chickoos produced.
Fluctuations in temperature, changed rainfall patterns and indifferent weather since two years have taken toll on crops. Heavy heat in daytime and cold nights has resulted in withering away of flowering from fruit trees, and non-formation of seeds in small fruits have become a common feature in many citrus fruits.
This has resulted in the production by about 10 to 12 per cent every year.
"If these changes continue, Kutch will become a hub of good mangoes and even cashew in the coming five years," said NI Patel, head of horticulture department at Navsari Agriculture University (NAU).
This year, climatic changes have affected cash crops to the extent that 50 per cent of the mango crop and 30 per cent chickoo, Patel added.
"In November-December 2011, when flowering on mango trees was abundant, we thought we are in for a bumper crop. But two spells of weather due to climate change has brought us to a stage where many farmers are seriously thinking of giving up mango farming," said Prof NI Shah, in-charge of NAU's Pariya farm.
Talking of way and means to combat climate change, Patel said, "Its difficult to prevent the affects of climate change. But for fighting extreme cold conditions for fruit trees, the ways are fogging, giving lukewarm water to control inner temperatures."
NAU has started a research to grow mango trees under controlled conditions. The experiments are on to grow the tree at 10 , 15 and 20 degrees Celsius in controlled conditions.
This research will provide the details of exact effects of climate change on the crop, but it will be known only after two years.
