Adverse weather affects litchi yield in Dinajpur

DINAJPUR NEWS

The luscious litchi of Dinajpur and its adjacent districts is likely to be dear this season as inclement weather has already affected the production.

Hailstorms and high temperature have reduced the chances of bumper production of the popular tropical fruit in the area, said locals.

Litchi growers in different upazilas of Dinajpur, who had expected high yield in view of sufficient flowering early this year, are now worried as adverse weather has affected the fruiting.

"The weather was favourable for litchi in early April but it turned bad in the middle of the month. I fear getting 30 per cent less than expected production from 100 litchi trees in my orchard as they got damaged due to hailstorms and heat," said Nurul Islam, owner of a litchi orchard at Uttar Ulipur in Dinajpur Sadar upazila.

Litchi orchards in different areas of Sadar, Biral, Birganj, Khansama, Chirirbandar, Nawabganj and Hakimpur upazilas of Dinajpur district are in similar condition due to hailstorms and excessive heat, said farmers.

District horticulture department sources said litchi is cultivated in approximately 2,000 hectares of land in Dinajpur and there are 3,000 commercial litchi orchards in the district.

Litchi trees are also found at almost every household in the district.

A full grown tree generally produces 3,000 to 8,000 pieces of litchi weighing 100 to 180 kg and able to yield the fruit for next 50 years, officials said.

At least 40 lakh kg of litchi production was expected this year, but it will be much less due to adverse weather, said farmers and horticulture officials of Dinajpur.

The litchi grown in Dinajpur and adjacent districts is very much in demand in the national and international markets.

At present, several varieties of litchi including bedana, bombai, china and madraji are grown and marketed.

Last year ordinary varieties of litchi sold for Tk 250 to 300 per 100 pieces while bedana sold at Tk 600 to 1,000 for 100 pieces, market sources said.

Growers predicted higher prices this year as the production is likely to be lower than last year's.

Experts of horticulture department in Dinajpur suggested the farmers to clean and nurse the stems and regularly spray pesticides on the litchi trees.

During a visit to different places, this correspondent saw farmers watering the trees to protect them from heat. Litchi trees need to be watered three to four times a day.

Md Moududul Haque, district horticulturist of Dinajpur, however, expressed hope that the production will be near the target if weather conditions improve shortly.