Guava is likely to get costlier this winter, courtesy the raised mercury level during the winter season. Owing to a comparatively warm winter till date, there has been a drop in the production of Guava leading to rise in the prices of the fruit, claims the farming community.

According to the farmers, the unfavourable weather has led to drying up of guava trees affecting the fruit yield. "The production of the Guava this year has gone down significantly by 50 per cent in comparison to last year's production during this time of the season. The supply is thus less than the demand, comparatively," pointed out K K Shukla, president of the Kisan Kamgar Sammelan.

Shukla said, "Due to drying up of guava trees, the farmers are not getting the adequate price for their yield in the wholesale market, ultimately leading to the increased price of the fruit," he said.

The raised temperature has not only affected the fruit production but is expected to lead to less production of wheat crop as well.

And if the entomologists are to be believed, if the warm weather continues even during the maturity period of the fruit, the fruit is likely to get damaged by the attack of fruit fly, proving to be a setback for the farmers.

"The fruit fly is supposed to lay eggs inside the fruit when the temperature is slightly higher. The infestation in the fruit may be high if the such temperature continues to remain high even during the time of the maturity of the fruit, as such the raised temperature leading to warm atmosphere would provide congenial environment for the flies to infest the fruit," pointed out Dr Neerja Agarwal, professor at the Entomology department of the CSA University.

Interestingly, the economic crisis has already played havoc for the Indian farmers and now, the weather affecting the fruit yield is contributing in ruining the financial backbone of farmers. Dissatisfied by the apathy of government towards the community, the farmers feel that the government should help the farming community in increasing the crop sales in these hard times.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com