Pabna, a northern district, was hit by hail at the very start of the rainy season. Long spells of hail along with gusty wind and heavy rain have left the district's litchi and mango growers worried, and damage is feared to other crops too. The rain began at 8.30pm on Wednesday (18 March) and fell for more than an hour.

Those involved said that although the sky was clear all day, clouds began to gather over Pabna as evening fell and thickened into dense cloud at night. After a spell of erratic, moderate wind, heavy rain and hail began falling with gusty wind at around 8.15pm. Of the rain, which lasted more than an hour, hail fell for about the first 15 minutes.

Hail also fell in various places in Bhangura upazila, worrying farmers. They say litchi trees have blossomed well this year, including the orchards on 3,100 hectares in Ishwardi upazila, known as the district's litchi capital. In most places the blossom has already set into young fruit. At this stage, they say, even a storm, let alone hail, would make most of the blossom and fruitlets drop, damaging the orchards.

The same is true of mango orchards. Mango trees have blossomed well in the district this year, and growers fear heavy losses from storms or hail. Farmers added, however, that they need rain for Boro paddy, as they have been unable to irrigate enough for lack of diesel.

Abdul Majid, a litchi grower from Sahapur in Ishwardi, said it had rained but not hailed there. "The trees are laden with blossom this year. Apart from 7 or 8 of the 135 trees in my orchard, every tree has satisfactory blossom. We are watering, applying pesticide and giving other care so it doesn't drop. If hail comes now, we will suffer badly."

Abdul Halim, an orchard owner in Dapunia in Sadar upazila, said that although heavy hail fell in and around the town, it was not so bad in his area. "But if a storm or hail comes at this time, we will be hit. Most of the mango and litchi blossom and fruitlets will fall."

Farooq, a farmer from Ashutoshpur in Sadar upazila, said he keeps one mango tree at home for the family. "After the tree was covered in blossom, it now has young fruit. Some of it fell in today's hail. If this continues, the rest won't survive either." He added that the rain is needed for other crops.

Inquiries found that after Bhangura and Chatmohar, hail also fell in Pabna town. Little hail was seen in the other upazilas and villages, though moderate hail fell in one or two places.

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