RAHIM YAR KHAN: Temperature fluctuations during flowering season may affect mango crop in south Punjab, apprehend farmers.

Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Muzaffargarh and Khanewal are considered key districts for producing best quality mangoes of different varieties.

Jam Majnoo Ganga, a mango orchard owner of Ganga Nagar near Sheikh Wahan, told this correspondent that in the mid of February the flowering was at its peak due to best weather condition.

He said a mango tree produces 180 to 250kg average fruit, but this season they were expecting up to 500kg according to the flowering trend. But increase in temperature in the end of February and start of March, and later decrease in the mid of March converted flowers into dead shape called Batoor locally.

“The unexpected mercury fluctuation in March disrupted the natural flowering and fruit-setting process,” says Dera Shamas mango trader Ghulam Mustafa Sipal.

He gets mango orchards on lease and supplies them to exporters in Karachi and Lahore.

He says mango trees produced a considerable quantity of blossom but the critical stage of fruit formation failed to occur properly.

He further said that pests like thrips’ and white mildew’ attacked mango plants because mango farmers did not apply pesticides.

RYK Deputy Director Agriculture (Extension) Dr Masood Saleem told Dawn that due to rising temperature in the end of February, mango flowering was best. But rising temperature brought mango hopper which attacked the flower panical.

He said mango farmers who sprayed pesticides at this stage saved maximum flowers.

He said in the mid of March the temperature decreased due to cloudy weather and the flowers attracted ‘powdery mildew’.

“This attack of diseases affected the flowering process,” he said.

Dr Masood Saleem, however, expected the mango production would be better this year as compared to the last year.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2026