Jaipur: Farmers across Sriganganar and Hamumangarh are counting on the weather gods for a chilly blessing this season, with a timely drop in temperature being key to enhancing the sweetness and quality of their kinnow crop.Despite a quantitatively better harvest this season over last year, prices of this popular mandarin-orange hybrid continue to hover disappointingly low in wholesale markets.Farmers say the kinnow crop needs a sustained period of cold weather — ideally 6 degrees Celsius or below — for a natural boost to the fruit’s sugar content. The lack of intense cold so far this year has led to diminished quality, weak demand and suppressed prices.TOI spoke to a wide spectrum of kinnow farmers to understand how a relatively warmer Dec has turned into a problem for them.“Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts typically record minimum temperatures below 6 degrees Celsius, beginning early Dec. This year, however, the average minimum temperature has lingered between 9 and 10 degrees Celsius. As a result, the kinnow harvest is more sour than sweet so far,” said Santok Singh, a farmer from Mirzawala village of Sriganganagar.“We are compelled to sell at a loss, at a mere Rs 7 to Rs 10 per kg in wholesale markets,” he added. Without a cold wave to turn things around, farmers fear significant financial losses despite robust production levels this year.“We are desperately awaiting a fall in temperatures in the coming days, which will help increase both the size and sweetness of the fruit,” said Subash Sehgwal, another kinnow farmer from Sriganganagar.Many kinnow farmers in the region have delayed harvesting their crop in anticipation of colder nights, but the wait has only increased their uncertainty. “We are not harvesting kinnow until the first week of Jan, by which time we expect weather conditions to change in our favour,” said Amreek Singh, a farmer from Hindumalkot village.In 2024, Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts together produced nearly 5 lakh metric tonnes of kinnow, according to the state’s horticulture department. That figure is expected to rise to 5.2 lakh metric tonnes this season.All that remains in the way of bumper returns for the state’s kinnow farmer is a sustained spot of cold!
