Alphonso disease puts farmers at loss

Ashwathnarayana, a farmer from Kanakapura, is crestfallen to receive bags of Alphonso mangoes he sold to customers.

They cut the mangoes and found part of the pulp developing white, spongy texture while the fruit itself was looking normal from outside. Sadly, the condition — developed due to a disease — is noticeable only when the fruit is 80% mature.

“Customers return the fruits in loads. Even we struggle to pick out the fruits with the spongy growth,” Ashwathnarayana, recognised by the Karnataka State Mango Development Board for his good farm practices, said.

The farmer followed expert advice to use calcium and applying limestone on the mangoes, but it is of no help.

The condition is common among Alphonsos and is worrying for the farmers since they export this mango variety. The mango also has a Geographical Indication tag.

“This is called sponge tissue problem and is specific to Alphonsos,” said C G Nagaraju, the managing director of the mango board. “Unfortunately, no one can identify it from outside.”

The board has asked farmers to apply lime on the trees to mitigate the disease. Nagaraju said it would take three years to fully eliminate the problem.

X-ray scanning

“We are getting an x-ray machine next year to scan the mangoes and remove the ones with this problem. This apart, we find Alphonsos to be the most palatable mango varieties,” he added.

Some farm experts attribute the white spongy tissue to the onset of premature germination associated with other events in developing fruits. The process can be carried out when the fruit is 80% ripe.

A formulation developed by Indian Institute of Horticultural Research scientists to delay the seed germination to prevent the spongy formation.