Mango is the financial fruit of Bangladesh. Mango is called the king of fruits in Bangladesh. The environment is filled with golden yellow mango blossoms. Swarms of bees are buzzing around. Small birds also sit on the buds to eat honey. Such a scene was seen in the mango trees of Mirzaganj Upazila of Patuakhali. The view will attract anyone. Since the severity of winter in nature is a little less this time, the mango trees planted by individual initiative from the Upazila city to the village have already been covered with buds. The branches of the mango tree are hanging down with the weight of the buds. This is why garden owners are dreaming of success. Patuakhali produces mangoes of Amrupali, Gopalbhog, Langra, Fazli varieties besides native mangoes.
It can be seen in different areas of the Upazila, rows of mango trees are adorned with only buds. It is like a combination of yellow and green. Buds cover every branch of the tree. Small mangoes have come out of the mango buds on some trees. Some of the tree owners are tending the garden, some are giving medicine to the buds.
Shahidul Islam Mallik, general secretary of Mirzaganj Mazar Aqoff Estate, said that we have more than 150 mango trees here. This time, as the fog and winter are less, all the trees have blossomed well. Now garden care is being done with application of fungicides to get good yield of mangoes.
Some other mango farmers including Abdul Hanif of Andua village in Ghatak of the Upazila said that the buds have come earlier this time. Now he is busy tending the mango garden with fungicide application to get a good yield of mangoes. Most of the plants in our garden are already in bud. This time due to less fog, the buds are blooming well. They expect a bumper crop of mangoes this year if the weather is favourable.
Mirzaganj Upazila Agriculture Officer Arafat Hossain said, there are now many mango buds on the trees in Mirzaganj. A bumper crop is expected after seeing numerous buds. End of December to first week of March is the ideal time for mango trees to bud. About 70 percent of the mango buds are male, 30 percent are female, the male buds will go into the storm, and the female buds will produce mango pods, and if there are two mangoes per bud, that is a bumper crop.
He also said that there are 10 gardens in Mirzaganj through the Department of Agriculture, and each garden has more than 50-100 trees.
But the main enemy of buds is fog. So far the mango buds are in full bloom with less fog in the region and bright sunshine in the sky.
However, if there is no major natural calamity and the weather conditions are favorable, there is a possibility of a bumper crop of mangoes this year.