This year, for the first time, the administration fixed dates for picking mangoes. Growers and orchard owners say it was poorly planned, while others say their sweeping complaints are not acceptable either. Those involved agree the confusion over dates must be cleared up.

Now that mango is a huge trade, it cannot be treated lightly, and dates were set to deliver pure fruit to consumers. But which date for which district, and when each variety matures, remained unclear. The calculation in Bagha, Rajshahi, differed from Chapainawabganj. Wide publicity at the start of next season would help growers, traders and consumers.

A Rajshahi grower said they could not reach the market: the mangoes spoiled, and because the date was pushed back 15 days, they must sell at 10 taka a kilogram.

Chapainawabganj growers said the government ruled no picking before the 5th. Dr Sharafuddin of the Horticulture Research Institute, Chapainawabganj, said picking was set from 1 June there and from 5 June in Rajshahi. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Jahangir Kabir said some mangoes could be picked in early June and the rest not before the 15th. In Chuadanga, a grower said a meeting with the upazila officer decided mangoes would be picked when mature.

Some farmers say the decision ruined growers and traders; others welcome it but say farmers must be part of decisions. To clear the confusion, Rajshahi mango researcher Mahbub Siddique has prepared a mango calendar; he says Gopalbhog should not be bought or eaten before 25 May, followed by Himsagar and Langra.

Source: Shykh Seraj, Hridoye Mati O Manush. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.