Spring rain and hail have made a serious dent to Maharashtra's mango crop, DNA India has reported.
The Aurangabad district usually exports around 70 tonnes of Kesar mangoes to the US annually, but rain and hail last week has left some fruit badly damaged, causing growers to fear export targets may not be met.
"Almost all the mango crops in this area have been affected by rain and hailstones. Some officials from the agriculture and revenue department came to inspect the crops," said farmer Vinayak Pathrikar.
Trayambak Pathrikar, secretary of the Aurangabad Mango Growers' Association, said the Kesar crop had been particularly hard hit.
"The quality of the mango crops has now deteriorated for the purpose of export. That is why this year we won't be able to achieve the export targets. Especially in Gangapur...and Aurangabad, hailstorms have damaged the crops to a large extent, especially the Kesar mango crops," he said.
The Kesar mango variety is slightly smaller than the Alphonso, and has a golden colour tinged with green.
