Nashik, the main grape growing region of the state, has reported temperatures below 3 degrees Celsius. Other grape-growing regions such as Pune, Solapur and Sangli have not reported extreme temperatures yet.
As parts of the state reel under a cold wave, grape growers are worried for their crop as they are accustomed to low temperatures only after February. Parts of Maharashtra have witnessed a cold wave over the past few days, with the temperature dipping below normal.
Other grape-growing regions such as Pune, Solapur and Sangli have not reported extreme temperatures, with the minimum range between 14 and 15 degrees Celsius. The day-time temperature in most parts of the state is around 30 Celsius.
Jagannath Khapre, president of the Grape Exporters Association, has said the weather conditions were not conducive for the crop. A majority of the grapes were in the early or late stage of berry formation and such temperatures will surely harm them. “In areas where the humidity is high, the present temperature will result in what is called cold injury with the berries turning pink. This kind of a crop fails to command a good price with farmers having to harvest it earlier than normal.”
Growers have little or no options to prevent damage to their bunches. The weather forecast issued by Pune-based National Research Center for Grapes — an institute of Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) — admits no chemical method has been found to control this.
