Mango trees in the taluk are now blossoming, and K N Suresh Chandra, senior assistant director of the horticulture department, has given suggestions to farmers as to how they can safeguard their mango crop.
Mangoes are cultivated over an area of 20,000 hectares, across the taluk. When the trees blossom, the mist may cause diseases, or make the trees more prone to pests.
 If adequate measures are not taken to protect the crops, then the fruits go black; the diseased may be contagious, and damage all the crops, he said. In the early stages, 4 grams of carboril and 3 grams of phosphorous can be mixed with a litre of water.
This mixture should be sprayed onto the crop. Trees bearing the badami variety of mango should be given this treatment six times for every 15 days, he added. The badami and benisha varieties of mango are exported, hence extra interest has to be taken to protect these. At any cost, terminator seeds should not be used on these varieties.
Not eligible
If such pesticides are used, then these mangoes may not be eligible for export, he advised. Using bio-pesticides proves beneficial in protecting crops during organic farming. Farmers are now showing more interest in organic farming, and there is more demand all over the world for crops grown in this method, so all farmers can adopt this method, said Mr Suresh Chandra.
In a joint venture undertaken by the horticultural department and the agricultural university, eight farmers have been trained on the export of crops.
More farmers can get trained under their direction. If the mango crop is grown and harvested in a scientific manner, they can get better prices, he suggested.