Even after Basant Panchami – he festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring - this year, Bihar’s litchi and mango trees did not fully bloom. Some are linking this to rains and moisture remaining in the earth for a long time. Fruit growers in Muzaffarpur say that blooming of mangoes and litchis usually happens after Saraswati Puja, but this year it has not happened.
According to Bhola Prasad Singh, Chief of Muzaffarpur Fruit Growers Association, only 50 percent of the blossoming of litchi trees is visible this year. Some farmers are using chemicals for the blossoming of litchis due to which they are hopeful that the fruit would bloom.
The fruit producers say, "The situation is worse in the areas where the flood water has been around for a long time, the blossoming of fruits is quite less visible in these areas."
Meanwhile, a litchi farmer from Minapur still hopes that blossoming of fruits would take place. Due to the sunny conditions for the last two to three days, an increase in the temperature has been recorded which has raised the farmers' expectations.
According to menafn.com¸ Bihar produces 70 per cent of the total litchis in the country. Muzaffarpur topped the country for litchi production. In Bihar, litchi is cultivated on a total of 32,000 hectares. Muzaffarpur alone has litchi orchards spread across 11,000 hectares.
