Bad year for Muzaffarpur’s litchi farmers? High temperature, hot westerly winds result in high fruit drop

High temperature and scorching westerly winds have created an unsuitable climate for the growing litchi fruits in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. This has spelt doom for hundreds of litchi farmers, who were already worried over low flowering this year due to erratic weather.

The red fruits that have adorned the branches are falling off before maturing, according Ranjeet Thakur and Grijesh Choudhary, farmers from Bochaha block. “Heatwave-like conditions along with hot westerly winds resulted in nearly 40-50 per cent fruit drop in litchi. It is a major setback for us,” said a disappointed Thakur, who owns a large litchi orchard.

The cultivators are not hopeful of a bumper harvest this summer because of the hot weather, lamented Choudhary.

In April this year Bihar’s Sheikhpura district recorded nearly 45 degrees Celsius temperature — the highest in the state, followed by 43-44°C in over a dozen districts and above 40°C across the state. The India Meteorological Department issued a heatwave alert for several districts till May 3.

Muzaffarpur-based National Research Centre on Litchi (NRCL) Director Bikash Das corroborated the claims made by farmers. The litchi fruits were unable to tolerate the high temperatures and hot westerly winds for days in April and crop loss is expected this year, he said. “The farmers were already unhappy over the delay in litchi fruit setting, which was a week to 10 days late.”

NRCL has advised litchi farmers to regularly irrigate orchards to provide moisture in view of rising temperatures, he noted. “High temperatures, along with hot winds, as witnessed in Muzaffarpur and surrounding districts not only affect the quality of litchi but also reduces its yield.” 

Although the suggestion is timely and sound, small farmers find it challenging to irrigate orchards by hiring costly water tankers. It can also be an uphill task to protect litchi ahead of harvesting as the orchards have thousands of trees spread over hundreds of acres, said litchi expert SD Pandey. 

While hot climatic conditions are common in the region April, this time it was unusually severe, said Gulab Singh, a scientist at Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur district. 

“Last April there was moisture in the atmosphere despite westerly winds, because easterly winds followed. This had not affected litchi fruits as much,” he said.

The strong hot westerly winds at 10-30 kilometres per hour speed and day temperature between 36-41.5 resulted in high drop of litchi fruits, Singh observed.

Muzafffarpur’s Shahi Litchi, an Indian variety of soapberry, is famous for its size, unique flavour, aroma and taste.

But in the last 10-12 years, fruits like mango and litchi have been affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, said Mohammad Feza Ahmad, horticulture and fruit scientist at the Bihar Agriculture University, Sabour in Bhagalpur district.

The size and sweetness of litchi has deteriorated due to unexpected variations of temperatures in April and May, according to horticulture scientists and litchi farmers. 

Litchi is grown under a specific micro-climatic condition, said Ahmad. “A temperature range of 30-35°C in the second half of April is ideal for smooth fruit setting and low drop,” said Ahmad.

During this period, the temperature should be neither low nor high, for its natural growth, he added. “Climatic variations also affect sugar assimilation, resulting in poor quality litchis as well as mango.”

Litchi is a major crop in this area, but farmers in Muzaffarpur and neighboring districts have been struggling to deal with the situation in recent years. 

The red, juicy fruits are likely to hit the market after May 20 this year as farmers expect to start harvesting after the second week of May. Bhola Nath Jha, a big litchi farmer associated with the Litchi Utpadak Sangh, said last year litchi production was recorded at 70,000 tonnes but this year, litchi production is expected between 40,000-50,000 tonnes.

In the face of heavy crop losses, litchi farmers are demanding compensation similar to that provided to kharif and rabi farmers after drought and flood losses. They plan to submit a memorandum to the state and central government soon, with the request.

Litchi orchards are spread over nearly 12,000 hectares in Muzaffarpur and 32,000 hectares in the state. This accounts for nearly 40 per cent of India’s litchi production. 

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