Kinnow

Unanticipated drop in kinnow rates amid a bumper yield has left growers of the fruit in Punjab staring at very poor gains. Farmers said they are getting Rs 6-10 per kg for their kinnow crop, a steep decline as compared to Rs 20-25 per kg they got last year. They rued that at the current rate, they are not able to recover their input cost, and sought from the government to fix a minimum price for the fruit crop. After two years of low yield because of unexpected high temperatures during the flowering stage of the crop, Punjab is set to achieve a bumper crop this season. Punjab, a major grower of kinnow in the country, is expected to achieve an output of 13.50 lakh metric tonne this season, as against 12 lakh MT in the last season. A total area of 47,000 hectares were brought under the kinnow crop this season. Harvesting of kinnow -- a hybrid between king and willow leaf mandarins -- starts in December and goes on till February-end in Punjab. Abohar is the leading district in the

Punjab, a major grower of kinnow crop in the country, is likely to witness at least a 25 per cent decline in the output of the citrus fruit even as the growers are fetching higher prices this season. The orchardists blame the acute short supply of canal water and unexpectedly higher temperature during the flowering stage of the crop for the lower yield early this year. Punjab is the largest producer of kinnow fruit in the country, with around 59,000 hectares of land under the crop and almost 12 lakh metric tonne of annual output. Harvesting of kinnow, a hybrid between king and willow leaf mandarins, starts in December and goes on till February-end in Punjab. Abohar is the leading district in the state, with a maximum area of 35,000 hectares under the kinnow crop. It is also grown in Hoshiarpur, Muktsar, Bathinda and some other districts, an official of the Punjab Horticulture department said. "There is going to be around 25 per cent drop in the production of kinnow this year," sai

State sets export target of 15,000 tonnes, announces Rs 14 cr grant to ensure remunerative prices to growers