Itanagar, Mar 14 (PTI) Shallow water table, especially during the winters, and lack of maintenance are the prime reasons for declining orange production in Arunachal Pradesh, state horticulture minister Tage Taki told the assembly on Monday.Responding to a question from Congress MLA Wanglin Lowangdong on pest infestation of orange plantations in Tirap, Taki said that no such report was received from the farmers or field officers.“Citrus plants, especially orange, are not susceptible to pest attack. The production of oranges is on the decline due to various factors, and the department is aware of it," the minister said.A team from Nagpur-based Orange Research Institute was recently invited here to study the cause of dip in production in the Lohit belt, he stated.“It attributed the decline to low water table, lack of maintenance, including inadequate manure application. Age is also a factor as an orange tree can produce fruits up to 40 years on average,” Taki maintained.The minister pointed out that another team from Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) had cited similar reasons for the decline ."The department always advises orange farmers to use fertilizers and adequate water in orange cultivations, besides replacing old plants with new one as re-plantation is the only solution."It is also providing micro (dip) irrigation facility to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMSKY) to mitigate the water shortage problem," he added. PTI UPL RMS RMS