…but UP mango growers can already see a bumper crop

LUCKNOW: While the shortfall of winter rainfall is likely to cause an agrarian distress, mango growers of Uttar Pradesh are upbeat over the gradually soaring mercury in February.

Dubbing the weather change as a blessing in disguise, the mango-growers insist it is the best-suited climatic condition for the crop.

“It is the best crop I have seen in my 70 years of mango farming,” said Padma Shri Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan of Mallihabad, also known as ‘Mango Man.’

Predicting a bumper crop, Khan, who is known for growing different varieties of mango fruit, said mangoes this summer could sell as cheap as potatoes.

“Mango crop sees flowering as winter recedes. It is very crucial time for the mango crop as delicate flowers need care and suitable weather conditions. So far, the weather is best suited with no major non-seasonal rain and hailstorm coming their way. If flowers remain intact it will be a full bloom crop,” Khan said.

He said the crop is expected to hit the markets by mid-May.

“Initially, the price of mangoes may be quite high, but in the later days it won’t be more than Rs 10 or Rs 15 per kg,” he added.

Insram Ali, president of Mango Growers Association of India, said the crop this year is good in Malihabad and in the entire Uttar Pradesh that produces over 44 lakh metric tonnes of mango.

“The state government should made adequate electricity and water supply arrangements in the mango belts here in order to sustain the crop,” he said.

Lucknow, which is also referred to as ‘mango capital’, comprises of three tehsils— Malihabad, Mall and Kakori.

In all three tehsils, the records of horticulture department suggests, mango is produced on total 23,589 hectares of land.

Malihabad is said to be the largest contributor to the total mango production (from the mango belt) with over 10,000 hectares of land engaged in mango farming.

In Uttar Pradesh, mango is produced in an area of 2.5 lakh hectares. Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Allahabad, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Faizabad, Varanasi, Moradabad, Barabanki, Meerut, Unnao, Sitapur, Hardoi, Gorakhpur, Basti, JP Nagar and Mathura are among major mango producing belts in the state.