Heavy rain fell all day in Chapainawabganj in the first week of Chaitra. The rain slightly damaged the mango blossom but did the fruitlets a lot of good. Mango growers, however, are still caught between hope and worry, unable to tell whether the rain has harmed or helped them.

The rain that began on Tuesday, 19 March, continued until the afternoon of Wednesday, 20 March.

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said blossom on trees where the flowers have not yet opened and set fruitlets will be damaged by the rain.

Anarul Islam of Shyampur union in Shibganj upazila said heavy rain started on Tuesday night and continued until the afternoon. "I can't tell whether this will harm or help my mango blossom." He added that he has an orchard of different mango varieties on 2 bighas of land, but there is less blossom this year.

Ali Hasan of Islampur union in Sadar upazila said the sky clouded over at night and the rain began. Around dawn on Wednesday it came down as drizzle, turned moderate as the day went on, and from after midday until afternoon a light drizzle fell again. "This has badly damaged my mango blossom."

Ismail Hossain Shamim Khan, general secretary of the Shibganj Mango Producer Co-operative Society, said blossom that is still small will suffer heavy damage, but the rain will benefit panicles that have already set fruitlets.

The deputy director of the DAE in Chapainawabganj said the rain is very beneficial for mango trees that have set fruitlets and will help them grow. However, blossom on some mango trees will be damaged.

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