📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Sanket Oswal
Agriculture
Maharashtra faces 50-year worst drought as farmers lose fruit harvest, battle to save trees
✍️ India Today
🗓 12 Oct 2026, 08:02 AM
👁 10
A drought described as the worst in five decades has stripped Maharashtra's fruit growers of their harvest, prompting them to focus on protecting remaining trees.
The state of Maharashtra is grappling with a drought that experts say is the most severe in the last fifty years. Prolonged shortfalls in rainfall have devastated orchards across the region, leaving fruit growers with negligible yields.
Farmers report that the lack of water has caused blossoms to drop and fruits to wither, effectively wiping out the season's expected income. With the primary cash crop compromised, many are turning their attention to preserving the trees that survived the dry spell.
Efforts to save the remaining trees include manual watering where possible, mulching to retain soil moisture, and community initiatives to share limited water resources. The situation underscores the vulnerability of Maharashtra's agricultural sector to extreme weather patterns.
Local agricultural officers have urged farmers to adopt water‑conserving practices, though the immediate priority remains preventing the loss of mature trees that could support future harvests.
Farmers report that the lack of water has caused blossoms to drop and fruits to wither, effectively wiping out the season's expected income. With the primary cash crop compromised, many are turning their attention to preserving the trees that survived the dry spell.
Efforts to save the remaining trees include manual watering where possible, mulching to retain soil moisture, and community initiatives to share limited water resources. The situation underscores the vulnerability of Maharashtra's agricultural sector to extreme weather patterns.
Local agricultural officers have urged farmers to adopt water‑conserving practices, though the immediate priority remains preventing the loss of mature trees that could support future harvests.