Heralds of early spring? Mango flowering observed in Odisha, Telangana a month sooner than usual
- December 29, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Heralds of early spring? Mango flowering observed in Odisha, Telangana a month sooner than usual
Subject: Geography
Context:
- Mango flowering has started since the third week of December in Telangana and Odisha, which is at least a month sooner than the normal period of flowering.
Details:
- Unseasonal rainfall and a warmer-than-normal winter — both imprints of a changing climate — may be responsible for such anomalous flowering.
- This is because flowering requires warmth and humidity, which is readily available in Kerala during this period.
- From here the flowering spreads northward, and northwest India witnesses flowering last.
- Flowering usually happens after the coldest period of the season is ending, heralding spring.
- Under the influence of climate shift, early and delayed flowering is a characteristic feature of mango.
Mango flowering:
- Mango flowering is an important physiological event that sets the start of fruit production.
- Mango trees flower in response to the age of the last vegetative flush in tropical conditions.
- In contrast, cool inductive temperatures induce flowering under subtropical conditions.
Change in phenological pattern:
- Two of the most important factors determining the suitability of an area’s climate for mango are air temperature and rainfall.
- The sequence of phenological (plant growth) changes is either advanced or retarded with the rise and fall in temperature and the onset of wet and dry seasons.
- Climate change is likely to influence phenological patterns and indirectly vegetative and reproductive processes leading to reduced quality and quantity of production.
Mango shower:
- Mango showers is a colloquial term to describe the occurrence of pre-monsoon rainfall.
- Sometimes, these rains are referred to generically as ‘April rains’ or ‘Summer showers’.
- They are notable across much of South and Southeast Asia, including India, and Cambodia.
- Significance:
- In southern Asia, these rains greatly influence human activities because of the control the rains have on crops that are culturally significant like mangoes and coffee.
- Their intensity can range from light showers to heavy and persistent thunderstorms.
- In India, mango showers occur as the result of thunderstorm development over the Bay of Bengal.
- They are also known as ‘Kaal Baisakhi’ in Bengal, as Bordoisila in Assam and as Cherry Blossom showers or Coffee Showers in Karnataka.
- Towards the close of summer, pre-monsoon showers are common, especially in Kerala, Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu in India.
- They help in the early ripening of mangoes and are hence often referred to as “Mango showers.”