Lower vegetable production expected if hot weather continues

KUALA LUMPUR: Production of vegetables in the country is expected to drop between 15 and 20 per cent if the hot weather caused by the El Nino continues until next month.
Deputy Director-General (Operations) of the Agricultural Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Zanil Abdin Yusof said, however, vegetable production in the country could still be maintained using water sources from the mines, rivers, ponds and tube wells.
"The El Nino will have an earlier impact on the production of vegetables which require a larger quantity of water except for those located in areas which have continuous water supply.
"However, if the hot weather prolongs until May, water resources will drop and there is a possibility that vegetable production will drop between 15 and 20 per cent," he said when contacted by Bernama, here today.
Other than vegetables, he said non-seasonal food crops such as papayas, bananas, pineapples, guavas, star fruits and jackfruits were also expected to be affected.
Meanwhile, seasonal crops such as durians, mangoes, rambutan and duku would also be affected if the dry season occurred for a long period, he said.
Thus, he suggested that vegetable and fruit growers increased the capacity of their retention ponds in the farms besides increasing the use of organic materials especially during the soil preparation.
The current hot and dry weather is expected to persist until June. — Bernama