Windstorm ravages mango orchards ahead of peak harvest

MULTAN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jun, 2026) A powerful windstorm followed by rain swept across Multan Thursday evening,destroying nearly one-third of the mango crop just days before peak harvest and inflicting heavy financial losses on growers already struggling with a below-average season.

The storm caused varying degrees of destruction across orchards in the district. In some orchards where irrigation had recently been carried out,waterlogged soil left tree roots weakened,causing entire trees to be uprooted by the force of the wind.

In other orchards, large branches snapped and fell under the pressure of strong gusts, damaging fruit-laden portions of the canopy and accelerating fruit drop across the affected areas.

Farmers including Malik Akram Kalrou,Umar Hayat,Sajid and some others said the timing made the damage especially severe, as fruit had grown to near-mature size and was particularly vulnerable to being dislodged.

The losses come at a moment when growers had begun to feel cautiously optimistic after a difficult early season marked by poor fruit set and below-expected yields.

"Approximately one-third of the mangoes have fallen to the ground due to the strong winds,"claimed mango farmer Malik Arif Kalro of Nawabpur. "Farmers were already facing difficulties because the crop was not as abundant as expected.The storm has now caused severe economic losses and further reduced the marketable yield."

Kalro said much of the fallen fruit lacked full commercial value due to immaturity but hinted that some could be salvaged through alternative uses.

Some of the fruit can be used for preparing mango preserve,while mangoes closer to maturity may be ripened through commercial processes," he said.

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"Other fruit may be suitable for making pickles, which could help farmers recover at least part of their losses."

The uprooting of trees in recently irrigated orchards resulted a longer-term blow beyond the current season, as mango trees take several years to mature and bear fruit.

Growers whose trees were uprooted face not only the loss of this year's harvest but also the prospect of replanting and waiting years before full productivity was restored.

Fellow grower Malik Laiq Ali Sheikhana said the storm underscored agriculture's growing vulnerability to extreme weather events.

He maintained that mango farming required year-round investment in irrigation,fertilizer,labour and orchard management,making sudden weather-related losses particularly devastating for producers who operate on tight seasonal margins.

Agricultural experts warned that climate volatility poses an escalating threat to South Punjab's mango industry and called for improved crop insurance mechanisms and targeted government support to help growers absorb climate-related shocks.

They stressed that without institutional safety nets,repeated weather events of this kind could push smallholder mango farmers into serious debt.

The storm was expected to reduce market supplies and grower incomes throughout the ongoing season with its impact likely to ripple through the wider fruit economy affecting traders,labourers,transporters and agribusinesses linked to the region's annual mango harvest.

With mangoes serving as a Primary income source for thousands of farming families across Multan division, authorities have been urged to conduct a rapid damage assessment and announce relief measures before the situation worsens further.