Poor maintenance behind dip in orange production in Arunachal: Tage Taki

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Low water table, especially during winter, and lack of proper care and maintenance are the prime reasons for declining orange production in Arunachal Pradesh, State Horticulture Minister Tage Taki informed the Assembly on Monday.

Responding to a question from Congress MLA Wanglin Lowangdong regarding destruction of orange plantations in Tirap district in the past few years by pests, Taki informed that no such reports of destruction have been received from the farmers and field officers.

"Citrus plants, especially orange, are not susceptible to pests attack. The production of oranges is declining due to various factors and the department is aware of decline in orange productions in the State," the Minister said.

"The department had invited a team from Nagpur-based Orange Research Institute recently to study the cause of decline in orange production in the Lohit belt, and the team had attributed it due to low water level and maintenance like non-cleaning of basin area of orange tree or lack of use of manure, besides age factor as an orange tree produces fruit up to the age of 40 on average," Taki pointed out.

He added that another team from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) also attributed similar reasons for decline in orange productions.

"The department officials always advise the orange farmers to use fertilizers and adequate water in orange cultivations besides replacing old plant with new one as re-plantation is the only solution," Taki added.

The Minister added that the department has been helping the orange farmers by imparting training on pest and disease management at regular intervals besides distributing plant protection chemicals, fertilizers and sprayers, he said.

"The government is also providing micro (dip) irrigation under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMSKY), to farmers to mitigate the water shortage problem," he added.

Also Read:  Agriculture Minister Tage Taki pleads Centre to prioritize oil palm cultivation in Arunachal

Also Watch: