Litchi production threatened by the rise of temperature
India
Monday 19 April 2010
NAD
The temperature, that usually goes up to 41-42 degree in May, has already touched 42 degree Celsius in Muzaffarpur
The litchi production could be reduced by half to around 2.24 lakh tonnes as against last year due to sudden rise in temperature in the growing regions.
In 2009, 4.48 lakh tonnes of litchi was produced in India in 73,000 hectares of area, as per National Horticulture Board data.
"This year, the production of litchi is likely to go down by 50 per cent compared to last year as day-time temperature has suddenly gone up in the main growing regions of Bihar, Uttrakhand and Himachal " told the President Niraj Chhinwal, Litchi Growers Association of India.
Prasad said if there is no rainfall in next 1-2 weeks, production of most popular litchi variety 'Sahi', grown in Muzaffarpur, might be completely destroyed.
The litchi season begins with the 'Bambiya' variety, grown in West Bengal. This variety hits the market around the second week of May.
Litchi is mainly grown in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The fruit is also grown in Tripura, Assam, Orissa and Jharkhand in small quantity.
Source : Business standard.