Ishwardi (Pabna) Correspondent :
The colorful dreams of hundreds of garden litchi farmers of earning crores of taka are turning to dust in the harsh heat of nature. The joy of the litchi farmers in the villages of Ishwardi is now shrouded in mourning.
In the current season, there is a severe heat wave in Ishwardi. The temperature is hovering around 38-43 degrees. Litchi gardens can be seen on the surface, the continuous heat has turned the litchi red before it matures. Litchis are bursting and falling from the trees.
In Ishwardi, less than half of the Bombay litchi trees have budded this year compared to last year. Harsh weather and climate change have affected litchi yield. Bombay litchi is bursting on the tree before maturity in the ongoing drought.
Desi mozaffari variety (desi) litchi is getting burnt due to intense sun. Seven days ago, desi litchi has started to hit the market. Due to immaturity litchi is smaller in size and lacks flavor. Farmers said that if the hostile situation continues, litchi cultivation in Ishwardi will be a disaster this time. Most of the litchi farmers depend on the income earned from litchi cultivation for the whole year.
According to the information of Agriculture Office, Ishwardi has 3 thousand 100 hectares of litchi plantations. The production target has been fixed at 31 thousand metric tons. During the season, about 500 crore worth of litchi is produced in Ishwardi every year. But the agriculture department and litchi farmers are worried about the production of litchi due to the adverse behavior of nature and intense fire.
According to the weather office, for more than a month, the temperature crossed 36 degrees every day before 11 o’clock. Rising to 38-40 degrees after noon. Earlier, the temperature had risen to 42-43 degrees. Ishwardi Agriculture Office sources said that continuous heat wave is unbearable for litchi cultivation. No one has control over nature.
The wealthy litchi farmers are watering the plants daily with the help of spray machines. Those who cannot afford it will suffer disaster. Jainagar and Maniknagar villages of Ishwardi produce the most litchi. Shahmat Mondal, a litchi grower of Jayanagar village, said, I have 50-60 litchi trees. Already 20 litchi trees have cracks. Bombay litchi will take another 10-15 days to ripen. Cracks have already appeared. Even in 2016, there were not so many cracks. I do not understand why it is cracking.
Litchi trader Abdul Rauf said that the yield of litchi is low this year. Litchi is falling on him. This is a blow to death. After buying a litchi garden, I spent a lot of money on maintenance including fertilizers and pesticides. But the way the crack starts, the entire garden of lychee can burst and fall off as it ripens. Many litchi traders will become destitute.
Agriculture Officer Mita Sarkar said that if the temperature is above 35 degrees, it is very bad for litchi. This year, since the litchi pods have started to bud, the temperature in Ishwardi has been fluctuating between 38-43 degrees Celsius for about a month.
This is causing a lot of trouble. Stating that lychee is bursting due to heat wave, she said that she is not advising farmers to use any effective spray to prevent litchiy cracking at the moment. Just spray a lot of water on litchi plants. Sufficient water should be sprayed from late afternoon to night.