Horticulture crops such as fruits and vegetables are at risk of a washout in the wake of locusts’ attack in six States. Fruits and vegetables account for nearly 90 per cent of total horticulture production in the country.

Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, cumulatively contribute 38 per cent to India's 310 million tonnes of horticulture production in 2018-19. Vegetables, on the other hand, constitute 59 per cent of the horticulture and these five states together had a share of 39 per cent in the production.

However, as per the Ministry of Agriculture's second advance estimates released on Tuesday, horticulture production in 2019-20 is still expected to be 3.13 percent higher than 2018-19.

Horticulture has a number of advantages compared with agriculture crops. For one, it’s more remunerative. Unlike large-scale cereal crops, horticulture farms can be much smaller, allowing marginal farmers to boost their earnings from their small landholdings. While horticulture crops require more inputs in the form of fertilisers and so on, farmers often plant two or three crops simultaneously to maximise yield from each acre.

The Total Horticulture Production of the country is estimated to be 320.48 million tonnes as compared to 310.74 Million Tonne in 2018-19.

Increase in Vegetables, Fruits, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants and Flowers, while decrease in Plantation Crops and Spices, over previous year, has been observed. Onion, Tomato and Potato’s production is also expected to increase this year. This will help to keep prices under control across India.

As per the estimates, the total fruits production is estimated to be 99.07 million tonne compared to 97.97 million tonnes  production in 2018-19. It is mainly due to increase in production of Banana, Apple, Citrus and Watermelon.

The production of Vegetables in 2019-20 is estimated to be 191.77 million tonne, compared to 183.17 Million Tonne in 2018-19. Increase is mainly due to increased production of Onion, Tomato, Okra, Peas and Potato.

The onion production is estimated to be 26.74 million tonne, as compared to 22.82 million tonnes in 2018-19. Tomato production is estimated to be 20.57 million tonne (increase of 8.2%) as compared to 19.01 million tonnes in 2018-19.

Mango production is estimated to decline to 20444 million tonnes as compared to 21285 million tonnes last year.