Natore district administration has announced a set schedule for picking and marketing mangoes this season.

Under the schedule, picking will begin in the district's orchards on 15 May, with gooti (seedling) mangoes coming to market first. Other varieties will be picked and marketed in stages after that.

Deputy Commissioner Asma Shaheen said the administration is giving top priority to getting safe, unadulterated fruit to consumers. It will keep watch so there is no obstruction to picking, transporting and marketing mangoes, and will strictly monitor orchards to stop the use of chemicals and protect public health, she said.

Habibul Islam Khan, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said growers have been advised to pick mature fruit with the stalk attached to maintain quality, which greatly reduces rot caused by sap. The agriculture department has also urged growers to use fruit bagging to produce safe fruit.

According to the agriculture department, Natore aims to produce about 68,316 tonnes of mangoes from 5,693 hectares of orchards this season. It also expects 7,540 tonnes of litchi from 4,887 hectares of litchi orchards.

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