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Mango Production

Output likely to fall 10pc this year

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
With the start of the Bangla month of Falgun, Nabidul Islam was over the moon to see his orchards adorned with mango buds.
The grower in Kaliganj of Satkhira was expecting a bumper yield this year but there were unexpected rains coupled with hailstorms damaging a section of the buds in late February. Still, he hoped for better yield on his two bighas of land than last year.
But his hopes were dashed on May 4 as cyclonic storm Fani swept over Satkhira, knocking down the still unripe fruits from the trees.
"The trees on my mango orchards are almost empty now. It's a big loss," Nabidul said.
Md Nurul Islam, local training officer of Department of Agricultural Extension, told The Daily Star that the cyclonic storm damaged around 410 hectares out of 4100 hectares of mango orchards in Satkhira, one of the major mango producing districts.
However, the cyclone did not have much impact on mango yield in the northern regions, including Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi.
Anwarul Hoque, a mango producer of Rajshahi, said most buds fell off during the rains in late February and hailstorms early April. Again, when the remaining fruits began to grow, Fani hit.
According to estimates by DAE, which carries out field surveys and field tests of crops, there will be a 10 percent fall in mango production this year from last year.
"The hailstorms and rain that hit during the budding period in February will pull down mango production," said Mehedi Masood, director of a project under DAE on nutrition through year-round fruit production.
According to DAE, there are around 85 lakh mango trees across the country.
Trees of the main three varieties — Gopalbhog, Langra and Fazli - bear fruit every other year. As these trees bore fruit last year, there will be a drop in overall mango production this year, said DAE officials.
Talking about production trend of mango, Masood said, "The area of mango cultivation has increased every year, so does the production."
Against this backdrop, scientists and agriculture officials are encouraging farmers to grow high yielding varieties like Amrapali, Himsagar and Haribhanga, which are small in size but high in production.
According to agriculture officials, although there are 152 varieties of mango in Bangladesh, 31 are mostly grown.
Bangladesh has seen a rise in mango production over the last 18 years, according to a report in 2017 by Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Around 2.4 million tonnes of mangoes were harvested in 2017-18, according to DAE officials.
The Himsagar, Gopalbhog, Langra, Fazli from Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj used to be the main varieties.
But the emergence of Amrapali a decade ago has led to widespread production across the country. Currently, it accounts for 30 percent of the country's mango harvest, mostly from the south and southwestern parts of Bangladesh.
M Shamsul Haque, deputy director of DAE, said the mangoes witnessed several calamities this year. "We hope the calamities will not affect production much."