Early-ripening mango buds have started to bloom on trees in Rajshahi. These buds signal the start of the season at the beginning of Magh. There is a possibility of new mangoes.
Mango farmers said that if the weather is favorable, the early mango harvest could be good this time. An abundance of these early buds are being seen in Bagha, Charghat and Puthia upazilas of Rajshahi. Farmers are now hoping for a good harvest.
As much as farmers are happy with the arrival of early buds, there is also a fear of buds being damaged in dense fog. However, the Department of Agricultural Extension said that the risk of mango buds being damaged is low. As the sun rises after the fog, the buds will be fresher instead of damaging the mango buds. However, the Department of Agriculture is advising the use of some fungicides for this purpose.
According to the Rajshahi Department of Agricultural Extension, this year the target for mango cultivation has been set at 93,200 hectares of land in the four districts of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Natore. The production target has been set at approximately 1.25 million tons. Of this, there are mango orchards on 17,900 hectares of land in the district. Last year, a total of 12 lakh 7 thousand 263 tons of mangoes were produced in this region.
It has been found that early mango buds have appeared in Charghat and Bagha upazilas of Rajshahi. Early buds have appeared in many gardens in Nimpara, Bhayalakshipur, Charghat Sadar, Sarada and Shalua of Charghat upazila and in Monigram, Bausa and Gargaria unions of Bagha upazila.
Mango farmers said that early buds have started appearing on the trees. Farmers are quite happy with the early buds. The buds are swaying in the green leaves like the cool breeze of Magh month inviting Fagun. This time, some mango trees have budded in mid-January. In this situation, farmers do not want dense foggy weather. They said that it causes a lot of damage to the buds. They have done primary care of the trees before the buds appear. The farmers said that they have sprayed the necessary medicines as per the advice of the local agriculture department to protect the buds from diseases.
Bahadur Rahman, a mango farmer from Kaluhati village in Nimpara union of Charghat upazila, said that the buds have not appeared in the garden for the last two years. This time, the buds have appeared earlier in the garden. However, if the buds are not damaged in the fog, there will be a massive mango harvest this time.
Mango farmer and businessman Shamsul Haque said that buds have started appearing on some mango trees. And after 10 days, the buds will bloom on the entire garden. Therefore, time has to be spent on caring for small and large mango gardens. In addition, pesticides are being sprayed to control insects, including cleaning the garden. This will not only eliminate insects, but also healthy buds will appear on the trees.
Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer of Rajshahi Fruit Research Center, said, "This time, buds have come quite early. Some trees have started to bud now. However, it will take more time to understand how many buds will come. Hopefully, since there were fewer buds last year, this time there will be more buds."
Umme Salma, Deputy Director of Rajshahi District Agricultural Extension Department, said, "Some trees in Rajshahi have started to bud. However, it will take time until February for buds to appear. The buds that are coming are of the early variety."
He also said that farmers are being instructed to spray garden care drugs. And farmers are also working accordingly in the hope of higher yields. Compared to last year, it seems that more buds will come this time. The yield will also be higher. There will be no significant damage from the fog. As a result, the target that I have set this time will be achieved.
Dr. Motaleb Hossain said that last year, 2024 was the mango of the year. Mango trees that had abundant fruit last year may bear less fruit this year. This situation depends on weather, pollination problems and diseases. Usually, 20 percent of the trees bear fruit every year. However, due to this, there is little variation in yield. He also said that mango orchards in Naogaon district of Rajshahi division have expanded a lot in the last five years, which is almost equal to that of Chapainawabganj. However, the reason why Naogaon's production rate is higher in terms of production is that the orchards are new. Speaking about Rajshahi district, he said that the conversion of cultivated land in various upazilas including Durgapur, Bagha-Charghat in Rajshahi has led to a crisis in cropland. Due to this, many farmers have cut down their mango orchards and converted them into cropland. He sees this as a threat to the future food chain.