Nagpur, Mar 20 : Poor weather conditions and dry spell have hit orange yield by 60-80 percent in Nagpur

Also hit by infections, the orange trees bore few fruits this year.

Sporadic rainfall in the region ''upset'' the orange cart, even before the flowers began to sprout. Untimely fall off the trees has dashed the hopes of the orchard owners.

"Due to climate change and infection at the time of flowering, the trees did not yield any fruit. Moreover, the temperature was also hot and due to shortage of water, the farmers couldn''t not irrigate the garden," said Satish Goothmaray, an orange grower

"This year, the variety of oranges is quite less because of shortage of rainfall and also due to viral infection like fungal infection, the production of oranges have fallen sharply," said Arvind Monglay, an agriculture expert.

Nagpur District produces a large number of good quality oranges, grown in a total area of 12,500 hectares. There is a ready market for these oranges throughout the country. (ANI)