Because rain came late after a lengthy dry spell, agriculturist Isidoro T. Cabrera said, “we will have a very poor production of mangoes compared to last year.”
The total volume of mangoes to be harvested all over the island, he added, will be over 50 percent less than that of 2010.
2009 was not a good year either, but this year is the worst, Cabrera said.
A drought is always bad for farmers because they won’t have water for irrigation and bad, too, for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. because there will be less groundwater, Cabrera said.
He was hoping for rain in December and January, but it came in February and March which was the blooming period for mango trees.
When rain coincides with the blooming period, the Anthracnose fungus that resides in leaves will spread to the flowers and impair their ability to bear fruits.
Anthracnose, Cabrera said, produces millions of spores.
Because blooming flowers are very delicate, they are easily harmed by fungus spores.
Due to the inability of the fungus to travel or even survive due to lack of water, a period of drought is usually advantageous to fruit-bearing trees.
This is when “bumper crops” come out and they compensate for the poor harvest of water-dependent vegetables.
To have bumper crops there must be at least two to three weeks without rain during the blooming period, Cabrera said.
March was supposed to be the mango trees’ blooming period, but this year it was a rainy month.
Because of the poor harvest, Cabrera said mangoes will command higher prices this year.
Climate change, he added, has something to do with this change in the rain schedule.
“Any changes in climate can also affect the behavior of plants and their production, which impacts our livelihood and lifestyle,” Cabrera said.
Anticipating or mitigating the Anthracnose attack is very costly, Cabrera said.
Chemical control is expensive. Considering the average height of the tree, moreover, it will require a high velocity power sprayer in order for mango growers to apply the fungicide to the leaves.
Cabrera does not know anyone on Saipan who has such an equipment which is used at commercial mango plantations that the island does not have.
“This is the time when people cannot afford to let mangoes to just rot on the ground like what most people do during abundant times. So save your mango,” he said.
