NATORE, May 28: Officials of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) are expecting harvest of mango, the highest juicy and delicious fruit of the summer season, to come to nearly 60,000 tonnes (MT) in the district this season.
Farmers have started collecting mangoes from their orchards as per the schedule fixed by the agriculture officials, and the mangoes cultivated here are totally chemical free.
According to the DAE sources, a total of 4,900 hectares of land were brought under mango cultivation in the district this year.
Of them, Amrapali variety of mango was cultivated on 1,079 hectares of land, Laxmanbhog on 1,046 hectares of land, Khirshapat on 552 hectares of land, Langra on 510 hectares of land, Fazli on 492 hectares of land, Ashina on 468 hectares of land and Gopalbhog variety was on 296 hectares of land were cultivated, sources also said.
Besides, Mallicka, Harivanga and Bari-4 varieties of mango were also cultivated on some lands.
In the last year, a total of 4,823 hectares of land were brought under the mango cultivation, whereas it was 4,095 hectares of land in 2015 and in 3,490 hectares in 2014.
As per information of the DAE, different varieties of mango were cultivated on 1,780 hectares of land at Lalpur upazila, 870 hectares at Natore Sadar upazila and 540 hectares at Bagatipara upazila of the district.
The growers of Lalpur and Bagatipara upazila informed that the production of mangoes is good this time.
On the other hand, Atiqur Rahaman, a renowned mango grower, said he is apprehending loss in production to some extent as a recent storm has damaged a good portion of mangoes in some areas in Sadar Singra upazilas.
District administration and the DAE officials have taken various steps to ensure mangoes free of chemicals. In this connection, they held several meetings with mango farmers, traders and wholesalers and advised them to follow rules of mango production and its marketing, so that consumers can get chemical free mangoes, sources said.
They also conducted a campaign in different areas of the district to raise awareness among the farmers, sources added.
Lalpur Upazila Agriculture Officer Habibul Islam Khan said that they have made an inspection team wherein sub-assistant agriculture officers are observing the situation at 31 agriculture blocks so that the growers cannot use chemical violating the restriction given by the local administration and DAE.
Dr Saiful Alam, Sadar upazila agriculture officer, informed that mango harvest has begun in the upazila in the previously fixed time.
Now Gopalbhog variety of mango is being collected and gradually other varieties will be collected from the trees. Lastly, Ashina variety will be collected from the trees in July according to the scheduled time.
Md Rafiqul Islam, deputy director of the DAE said that the mango cultivation is increasing in the district gradually and growers are being benefited.
Now mangoes produced here are chemical free due to strong initiatives taken by his office side by side administration, he added.
