Favourable weather has brought a bumper mango crop to Bandarban this season, and growers are delighted. But trees did not hold on to as many young fruits as their eye-catching blossom promised, and a lack of rain made many mangoes drop even after they had set.

Mongyenu Marma, a grower in the Dolupara area of Bandarban Sadar upazila, planted mangoes on two acres three years ago. His trees have fruited for the first time this year, and he is very happy with the new orchard. He expects about 80 maunds from his Amrapali garden.

Usainu Marma of the Baghmara area said he has mixed fruit on 65 acres, of which 1,000 mango trees have fruited. If all goes well he expects 50kg a tree, or 50,000kg in all. Wholesalers are buying local mangoes at Tk 30-35 a kg and Banana mangoes at Tk 180-250 a kg straight from the orchard. Rangoyai, Rupali and other varieties have not yet been harvested, so he cannot say what they will fetch. He added that because of the lack of rain the crop did not match the blossom.

Harunur Rashid, a grower in the Reicha area, said he has more than 100 mango trees on about two and a half acres and has spent about Tk 2.5 lakh on the orchard so far. Although his trees blossomed well this year, drought and a lack of irrigation meant they did not set fruit in proportion. He hopes to sell 80-90 maunds this season.

Shah Newaz, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Bandarban, said mangoes were grown on 9,809 hectares in the 2021-22 financial year, producing 111,207 tonnes, and he expects both area and output to rise this year.

Of the district's mangoes, 75 per cent are Rangoyai, 20 per cent Amrapali, and 5 per cent Rupali, Gourmoti, Banana, Jambura, Surjadim and other varieties. He expects cultivation on 10,000 hectares this year and a crop of 120,000 tonnes.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.