Despite a decrease in the area of mango crop, a 2.2 per cent rise in mango production in different states, from 184.31 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to 188.32 lakh tonnes (lt) in the 2014-15 season was seen, according to the third advance estimates made by the Agriculture Ministry.
The area covered by the crop, known as the ‘king of fruits’, declined in 2014-15 to 22.18 lakh hectares (lh) from 25.15 lh in 2013-14, Minister of State for Agriculture, Mohanbhai Kundaria, informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Yet, despite the decline in crop area, mango productivity rose in 2014-15 to 8.49 million tonnes per hectare against 7.33 million tonnes a hectare in the previous year, said the Minister.
The sharpest decline in mango crop area was in Maharashtra, which fell from 4.85 lh in 2013-14 to 1.56 lh in 2014-15, with production falling to 8.76 lt in 2014-15 compared with 12.12 lt in the previous year. However, in Maharashtra, too, despite a sharp decrease in crop area, mango productivity rose to 5.60 per hectare in 2014-15 against 2.50 million tonnes a hectare in the previous year.
