The mango is called 'Brunei King', and each fruit weighs three to five kilograms. These huge mangoes hang on a tree at the Horticulture Centre in Khoyertola, Jashore. Because they look like pillows, visitors have named them the 'pillow mango'.

Agriculture officials said a tree of this variety was planted on a trial basis at the Jashore Horticulture Centre four years ago. Now large mangoes hang among its green leaves. The fruit is as tasty as it is big.

Those involved said the mango, from the royal gardens of Brunei, came to Bangladesh through the nephew of Atiar Rahman, a nursery owner in Shatakhali village of Shalikha upazila in Magura. Atiar Rahman then raised seedlings of the mango in his own nursery. Four years ago the Jashore Horticulture Centre collected a seedling from him and established a mother tree. It gave no fruit in the first year because of problems with its care, but this year it has borne 35 mangoes.

Dipankar Das, deputy director of the Jashore Horticulture Centre, said the Brunei King seedling was planted four years ago. It did not fruit in the first year because of care problems, but this year it has 35 mangoes. The largest weighs about 5 kg. "This is the biggest mango in the country," he said. It flowers at the same time as other mangoes but ripens much later, and tastes like the Fazli mango. Grafts are being made and sold to spread it among farmers.

Helal Uddin, a visitor to the centre, said: "I used to work for the government. Since retiring I have been planting various fruit seedlings at home. I came here today for some fruit tree seedlings and saw this big mango tree. I was amazed. Having learned about it, I have decided to take a graft and plant it at home too."

Mohammad Oliar Rahman, an employee of the centre, said staff had cared for the tree on the advice of agriculturists since it was planted, and it had fruited this year. Because the mango looks so striking, many tree lovers come from far away to see the tree and its fruit. Visitors named it the 'pillow mango' because it looks like a pillow, and many take grafts to plant at home or on their land.

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