An elephant that raided Muthalamada orchards being driven away by forest guards.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The mango farmers of Muthalamada are facing a new threat. This time it is the threat of sporadic incursions by wild elephants. The elephant threat, though limited to some areas, has come at a time when the farmers were heaving a sigh of relief this season after back-to-back crop losses in recent past.
Although mango orchards spread across 4,500 hectares in Muthalamada have not been a favourite raiding spot for the elephants of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and adjoining forests, the number of marauding pachyderms has increased in recent times. A lone tusker that reached the Chulliyar Dam at Muthalamada last week caused much angst among the farmers, local people and forest officials alike.
“It has not been an isolated case. We are facing frequent threat from marauding elephants. I noticed elephant presence behind my house last night (Sunday night). And the threat is increasing,” said M. Sacheendran, a mango farmer who recently shifted to his new house built within his 10-acre orchard.
Elephants will break the branches of mango trees and will terrorise the farmers and workers guarding the orchards at night. With most mango trees having flowered now, a single incident of elephant raid can cause considerable loss to the farmers.
“When an elephant breaks a branch, it is destroying quite a large number of flowers that are to become mangoes,” said Mr. Sacheendran. He said he was terrified as the elephant raided his farm in the night.
Driving them back
A couple of days ago, an elephant strayed into the farms at Vellaramkunnu, Muthalamada, giving tense hours to the villagers. It took several hours for the forest guards to drive the elephant back to the jungle by using crackers.
The elephant threat has come at a time when the Muthalamada farmers are hopeful of a copious crop after having suffered heavily in the last four years. If it does not rain on consecutive days in December, Muthalamada orchards are expected to offer a decent yield in the mango season beginning by February.
In the current season, farmers expect a yield of more than 20,000 tonnes in Muthalamada, much of which will reach markets like Mumbai, Delhi and Ahamedabad. Muthalamada mangoes, often synonym for Kerala mangoes. As Muthalamada mangoes are the first to hit those markets, there is good demand for them.
Much in demand
“The reason for this demand is the timing. Our orchards start flowering by November, and will be ready for harvesting by January end. Muthalamada mangoes reach the market well before the season peaks,” said Hafees J.M., a leading farmer and exporter.
Muthalamada has different mango varieties such as Alphonso, Banganapalli, Sindhooram, Totapuri or Kilimooku or Kilichundan, Kalapadi, Mallika, Nadusalai, Neelam, Rumani, Malgoa and Gudadath. But Alphonso continues to be the leader bringing two to three times the price of other varieties. Banganapalli, Sindhooram and Totapuri are the key varieties covering two-third of the total crops in Muthalamada.