Unseasonal rains hit Kachai lemons
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Sobhapati Samom
Imphal, January 07 2011:
After the sudden decline in the state's orange production, unseasonal rains at the year end besides other factors have also reportedly affected the lemon cultivation in Manipur's Kachai village in Ukhrul district, sources reaching here said.
Kachai lemons have reportedly been losing its juicy flavour besides reduction in its size compared to the past, a consumer who runs an eatery in Imphal claimed.
On the other hand, prices have increased.
"We buy Kachai lemons at ' 150 per tin compare to ' 120 per tin last year", the consumer said.
A tin of lemons weigh approximately 12 kilograms.
A decade back, lemon cultivators in Kachai, a Tangkhul village which is about 130 km from the state capital Imphal in Ukhrul district, used to reap a harvest of around 20 to 25 tins of lemons per lemon tree.
But in the last few years the production level has drastically fallen.
S Tineal (45) a cultivator in the village used to harvest about 30 tins of lemons per tree in the late nineties but this is no longer so, said a lady business associate who also hails from Kachai.
She however claimed that this does not mean that the villagers will produce less lemons in the forthcoming lemon festival which falls on January 14 and 15 .
More importantly, the cultivators are yet to find out the facts relating to the recent loss of the juicy flavour and the size of Kachai's famous lemons.
"In fact we're expecting a technical input from the scientists in the region", Tuimi Loli (49) who is the proprietor of Tuwa fruits, Hamleikhong, Ukhrul said when contacted over the phone.
An Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) team is expected to visit Kachai during the annual lemon festival.
Kachai lemon or citrus jambhiri is famous for its high ascorbic acid content, namely Vitamin C, which has close relevance to acidity found in oranges.
Lemon cultivation plays a vital role in the economy of Kachai's 350 households since the late 50s after one (late) S Paisho sprinkled three seeds at Theikhor village and another two at Shimphungrim.
Each Kachai household nurture 50-100 lemon plants for economic sustenance not to speak of those who own lemon orchards growing no less than 1000 trees, which in all used to yield around 300 tins in an average in a season.
Ukhrul district contributes 5737 metric tonnes of lemons from its 840 hectares under cultivation to the state's total production of 16,879 metric tonnes, as per the state horticulture crops productivity record 2007-08 .