Stating that they had suffered significant financial losses due to poor quality saplings purchased from nurseries maintained by Dr Y.S.R. Horticultural University (Dr Y.S.R.H.U), Andhra Pradesh, sweet orange/sweet lime farmers are urging the Telangana government to intervene and help them obtain compensation from the university. According to the farmers, they have collectively incurred losses amounting to ₹28 lakh over the past decade.
The farmers are calling for the formation of a committee comprising experts from the Central Citrus Research Institute in Nagpur and Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University to conduct a thorough investigation into the quality of sweet lime/sweet orange plants supplied between 2014 and 2024.
A farmer from Tippalammagudem village of Thipparthy mandal, Gurram Srinivas Reddy, stated that he had raised his orchard by purchasing 700 saplings (Sathgudi variety) from Dr. YSRHU’s Horticultural Research Station at Mahanandi in Nandyal district at ₹40 per sapling in December 2014.
“In addition to the sapling cost, I incurred ₹20 for transportation. The yield has been meagre despite purchasing saplings from the university’s nursery. While local varieties yield 25 to 30 tonnes, their yield has been only 4 to 5 tonnes. Other farmers in the district who bought saplings from the same source are facing similar issues,” he said.
“The expected ripening period for these plants is five years, but even after six years the yield remains unsatisfactory. The fruits are small, fall prematurely and turn yellow which the farmers attribute to the poor quality of the plants,” he said.
On an average, a farmer spends about ₹70,000 per acre annually on cultivation. Due to the substandard quality of the plants, they have been unable to recover their investments, plunging them into financial difficulties.
Mr. Reddy lamented the non-availability of quality sweet lime saplings despite the presence of a citrus fruit research centre. The Konda Mallepally research station is reportedly understaffed and ill-equipped, with key positions remaining vacant, leaving farmers without necessary guidance and quality plants. As a result, farmers are now forced to rely on private nurseries, which provide better quality plants.
District Horticulture & Sericulture Officer G. Sangeetha Laxmi noted that there could be various reasons for the poor yield. A team of scientists visited Mr. Reddy’s orchard last month and collected samples for testing. An expert committee conducted a field visit to the sweet orange garden owned by Mr. Srinivas Reddy on June 27.
The committee submitted a draft report indicating that the variety in question is Sathgudi budded on Rangapur Lime Rootstock. They also provided plant management suggestions and recommended conducting demonstrations on flower and fruit drop management and stem end rot control. Soil and water analysis for Gurram Srinivas Reddy will be conducted and sent to a lab at Miryalaguda for further analysis.
Meanwhile, farmers from various villages, including Nidamanuru, Kanagal, Tipparthy, Nalgonda, Madugulapally, Gurrampode, P.A. Pally and Kattangur, have represented their case to the Additional Collector of Nalgonda and requested that the issue be reported to the Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur for further investigation and sample screening.
The Director of Horticulture, Telangana, has also requested the ICAR, CCRI, Nagpur, to dispatch scientists specializing in plant physiology, plant pathology, and entomology to Nalgonda district to suggest corrective measures for improving sweet orange production and productivity.
