Extreme drought and heat are causing young litchi fruits to drop in Ishwardi, Pabna. Spraying pesticide and irrigating have not stopped it, and 40–50 per cent of the fruitlets on each tree have fallen. Growers fear a collapse in the litchi yield. The local Mozaffar variety is expected to ripen within just 20 days, but because the fruitlets are drying in the drought the fruit may be smaller this year, and growers also fear the litchis will not ripen on time.

Ishwardi is famous for juicy, tasty litchis. According to the report, the trees come into blossom in mid-Baishakh and the green fruitlets appear from the blossom in Chaitra. The trees are now full of marble-sized green fruitlets that would redden and ripen as they grow, but this year they are dropping in the extreme heat. Every tree had a record amount of blossom this year and fruit set was good, so growers had high hopes of a big crop. But with no rain and continuous heat from 28 March to 23 April, the fruitlets are falling and growers fear their hopes will be dashed.

According to the upazila agriculture office, litchi has been grown on 3,100 hectares in Ishwardi this year. Favourable weather in Baishakh brought good blossom on every tree and the agriculture department had expected a good yield, but the fruitlet drop caused by the extreme heat will reduce the yield somewhat.

A visit to several villages in the upazila found that 40–50 per cent of the fruitlets had fallen, with hundreds of marble-sized green litchis lying under the trees. Growers are tending their orchards and using pesticides as the agriculture department advises, but nothing is stopping the drop in the intense heat, and fruitlets keep falling abnormally every day.

Growers said they were regularly irrigating the base of the trees and spraying water over each tree to prevent the drop. They are also using micronutrients (PGR), zinc and cypermethrin, and imidacloprid to control insects, but none of it is working well.

Aminul Islam Chandan, a litchi grower in Charkadimpara village, told Jagonews24: "Forty per cent of the fruitlets in my orchard have dropped. Even with pesticide and irrigation the drop cannot be stopped. We did not get the rain we needed after the trees blossomed, and after the fruitlets formed they began dropping because of the extreme heat."

Jahurul Islam, a grower in Maniknagar Purbapara village, said: "Besides my own orchard, I bought three more orchards for Tk 4 lakh. Fertiliser, pesticide, orchard care and other costs will come to another Tk 2 lakh. I expected at least 5 lakh litchis from the three orchards, but with the fruitlets dropping, it now looks as though there will not be more than 3 lakh. They are falling now because of the heatwave, and then there are the storms and rain to come. I cannot tell what will happen to the litchis this year."

Ramzan Ali, a farmer from the same area, said: "I have a small litchi orchard at home, and I also bought an orchard of 21 trees. I hoped for 50,000 litchis, but because of the extreme heatwave it now looks as though I cannot expect more than 10,000."

Mostafa Zaman Nayan, a pesticide and fertiliser trader, said: "The fruitlets are dropping because of the severe drought, and we are as worried as the growers. Litchi tolerates 30–32 degrees Celsius, but Ishwardi's temperature is now 40–42 degrees. So naturally the fruitlets are dropping and some are cracking. Even using different pesticides, the drop cannot be stopped."

Mita Sarkar, Ishwardi upazila agriculture officer, said: "We have started courtyard meetings with farmers to advise them and raise awareness on preventing fruitlet drop. Farmers are being told to irrigate the base of the trees in the morning and at night, and to spray water over the trees very early in the morning. On no account should they irrigate after the sun is up. They should also spray fungicide. Irrigating and spraying fungicide as recommended will prevent the drop at least to some extent."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.