Malda: Farmers hopeful of ‘good health of mango trees’ with 2 days of rain

An untimely rain of 2 days in Malda contributed to the good health of the mango trees of the district.

According to the weather data, Malda had a total of 46.6 millimeters of rain in the past two days, Wednesday and Thursday. The Horticulture department and the mango producers association in their advisory to the farmers had underlined the need to clean the trees of dust for budding and pollination thereafter. They also advised the farmers to dig the ground around the tree and add manure along with watering them.

Samanta Layek, deputy director of district Horticulture department, said: “Two varieties of mangoes, Laxmanbhog and Aswina, have 80 per cent of budding now though the other varieties are still suffering from prolonged winter situation and lack of gradual temperature rise. We are hoping for more budding with more warmth in the weather.”

Ujjwal Saha, president of Malda Mango Merchants Association, said: “Nature accepted our call for cleaning the trees. Now all eyes are set on the budding process in the next fortnight.”