Sweet lemon yield falls by 1.60 lakh tonnes

The sweet lemon yield during the current season has dropped by 1.60 lakh tons because of adverse seasonal conditions. The farmers apparently suffered a loss of investment at least Rs 20,000 per acre.
Rising mercury and ground water receding further have impacted the yield during the current season. The loss of yield is put at 80 per cent. Further, the quality of the salvaged crop is not up to the mark. The farmers suffered loss in investment. The loss i investments made by farmers is put at Rs 60 crore.
The sweet lemon farmers have been appealing to the state government to come to their rescue by compensating for the loss of investments.
The total area under sweet lemon gardens in Nalgonda district is put at 60,000 acres. The cultivation of the crop is more in Nalgonda, Devarakonda divisions and upland areas of Miryalaguda division.
The rabi yield of sweet lemon is put at 5 tonness per acre in at least 40,000 acres. During the harvesting season, the yield is put at 2 lakh tons, according to a conservative estimate. However, this time the yield was limited to only 40,000 tons. Farmers have sunken borewells during the current summer but in vain.  The farmer tried to provide irrigation facility through tankers and other alternative measures, but there was no use. The trees have withered away as the temperature crossed 45 degrees Celsius during summer.  At the flowering stage, the flowers withered away and the sweet lemon formation was defective due to lack of juice in the sweet lemons.
During the current season the yield was limited to a tonne as against the usual 5 tonnes. For want of quality, the sweet lemon was sold in market at Rs 25,000 per tonnes as against Rs 45,000. Decrease in the yield and lack of remunerative price caused farmers a loss to the tune of Rs 20,000 per acre.
According to a farmer J Ramesh Reddy of Duggepalli in Tripurarammandal, he got a yield of 10 tons from his 12 acre sweet lemon garden as against the normal yield of 50-60 tons. Against the usual price of Rs 40,000 a ton, he got Rs 20,000 a ton, he said adding that he sustained an investment loss up to Rs 3 lakh.