Mango picking times have been fixed by variety in Naogaon. The season will begin on 22 May with the picking of Guti (local) mangoes. However, mangoes may be picked earlier with the permission of the local upazila administration for special reasons such as weather, temperature or rainfall.

The list and calendar were published at 12 noon on 7 May in the district administration's conference room. The decision was taken after discussions with local mango growers and traders to ensure that safe, toxin-free and mature mangoes reach the market.

Those present included Naogaon Sadar MP Barrister Nizam Uddin Jalil John, Deputy Commissioner Khalid Mehedi Hasan and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) deputy director Abul Kalam Azad.

Under the list, picking of Guti (local) mangoes will begin on 22 May. It will be followed in turn by Gopalbhog on 28 May, Khirshapat/Himsagar on 2 June, Nak Fazli on 7 June, Langra/Haribhanga on 10 June, Fazli on 20 June, Amrapali on 22 June and Ashwina/BARI-4/Gourmoti/Katimon on 10 July. Growers will pick mangoes from their orchards according to this schedule.

According to the Naogaon DAE, the district has a target of producing 3 lakh 78 thousand tonnes of mangoes on 30,000 hectares, or 12.50 tonnes a hectare.

Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Khalid Mehedi Hasan told Jago News that the district is ahead in producing both rice and mangoes. The agriculture office set the dates after checking in the field. Guti mangoes usually ripen first, so their picking will start on 22 May, followed by the others in turn.

He added that if mangoes ripen anywhere before the set time because of variations in the weather, growers may pick them after informing the upazila administration. Watch will also be kept to ensure that nobody ripens mangoes with chemicals and sells them.

Naogaon DAE deputy director Abul Kalam Azad told Jago News that the district has overtaken other districts in mango production. Last year 77 tonnes of mangoes were exported, and this year about 400 tonnes could be exported. Farmers have been trained with that aim, and there has been a lot of promotion for branding the district's mangoes, which will make them known across the country, he said.

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