Across the country, the countryside is now covered in mango and litchi blossom. The blossom has arrived with the breeze of Falgun, filling the branches with golden flowers, as fragrant as they are beautiful.

Since the start of Falgun, mango and litchi blossoms have been swaying on trees in villages across Bengal. Yellowish clusters peep out between the green leaves, the villages are filled with their scent, and swarms of bees fly from blossom to blossom collecting nectar.

Humming bees now cover the blossoms across Agailjhara upazila and the surrounding area. In this peak flowering season of spring, far more mango and litchi trees are in blossom this year than last year.

Light rain at the start of the season and favourable weather have brought heavy blossom to trees large and small. The upazila agriculture office said that if the current weather continues for a few more days, production of mango and litchi will double.

Mango and litchi blossoms have begun to appear, to a greater or lesser extent, in almost every district. Bad weather and untimely rain reduce the yield that blossom turns into. In several mango and litchi orchards in Gazipur, rows of trees are now full of blossom, but the harvest depends on the weather. If it stays favourable, orchard owners expect a bumper crop this year.

They said trees of all sizes have blossomed, and growers are busy tending their orchards in the hope of profit. Mango and litchi trees are in blossom at almost every house in the villages.

In most parts of Gazipur, villagers plant trees in their homestead yards or on vacant land around their houses. Orchard owners expect a good yield with proper care and favourable weather.

Seasonal fruit traders, meanwhile, are buying up mango and litchi trees in advance in the hope of bigger profits. Mango growers said they will get a good crop this year unless storms, hail or other natural disasters strike.

Mango grower Fazlul Haque Morol of Singar Dighi village in Mawna union, Sreepur upazila, said he has 6,000 mango trees of various varieties on 20 bighas, and they have blossomed heavily thanks to the favourable weather. "I am tending the trees regularly for a good harvest. Proper care from before the blossom appears until the fruit sets is essential. Barring natural disasters, mango production will be a record this year compared with other years."

Afaz Uddin of Abdar village and several litchi orchard owners of Dombari village in Sreepur upazila said their orchards have blossomed heavily this year. Last year a sudden storm badly damaged the litchi orchards, but they expect a bumper crop this year if the weather holds.

Sreepur upazila agriculture officer Muyidul Hasan said the agriculture department is advising growers on orchard care. Barring natural disasters, there will be a bumper mango and litchi harvest this year.

Source: Online Desk. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.