Malda: Untimely rains on March 19 and 20 due to a low pressure in the entire state of Bengal will benefit the cultivation of mango, litchi and some crops in Malda. Showers amounting to 325.2 millimetres in these two days in the district are expected to naturally irrigate the crops and speed up the growth of mangoes.
Bright sunshine is all mango producers are looking at now. Samanta Layek, deputy director of district Horticulture department, said: “The early varieties of mango, including Gopalbhog and Laxmanbhog, already have panicles on the trees and are fast to grow into matured mangoes but in case of late varieties, the flowers are yet to turn into small fruits. These, including Himsagar, Langra can face a bit of a drop in the yield. The jelly-like honey excreted by the panicles at this time attracts fungal infection but with it being washed away in the rain, the risk of infection turns to be zero. A rapid growth in mangoes can be seen with bright sunshine. Litchi production will also be benefitted by the rains.”
As an advice, Layek also asked the farmers to use fungicide in the trees to negate the possibilities of a fungal infection totally. On the other hand, three crops of maize, jute and Boro paddy are to gain benefits from the spells of rain. Only a very small amount of potato remained unplucked in the field may get damaged as more than 80 per cent have already been harvested in the district. Dibanath Majumder, deputy director of district Agriculture department, said: “Boro paddy requires water continuously. The land for jute cultivation is getting prepared now to which the rains will contribute. For jute, the trees will grow very fast. Leaving the small amount of damage to potatoes aside, the rains are surely beneficial to the other crops of this time.”
The weather on March 21 remained mostly cloudy and moist with occasional sunshine. District officials and the farmers are now looking forward to a bright day next.