Fewer mango buds worry farmers in Rajshahi

Mango growers in Rajshahi are worried about the upcoming season as fewer mango buds appeared on trees this year compared to last year. Hailstorms in the past few days have also caused some buds to fall off or rot.

The situation is particularly worrying in Bagha upazila, the region known for its famous Khirsapat, Langra, and Gopalbhog mango varieties.

Shafiqul Islam Sana, a mango grower from Bagha, who sold mangoes worth about Tk1 crore last year, is cultivating mangoes on 300 bighas of land this year as well. However, he is disappointed as fewer buds have appeared on the trees. 

He said that compared to last year, not even 50% of the buds have appeared on the trees this year. Some of the mango buds and pods have fallen off due to hailstorms.

Despite these setbacks, there is still hope for a good quality harvest. Bagha Upazila Agriculture Officer Shafiullah Sultan said that if at least 20% of the pea-sized pods survive, the mangoes will have a chance to grow bigger and be of better quality.

Shafiqul Islam, principal scientific officer of the Fruit Research Station, explains that last year's bumper crop resulted in less food storage in the trees, leading to a lower bud count this year. But reduced production this year is anticipated to yield larger mangoes of higher quality. 

According to agriculturalists, the buds have come late on the trees due to the prolonged winter. Usually, buds appear on most trees in early February, but this time buds started appearing on trees in late February.

Another unusual observation is the uneven distribution of buds. Some orchards have trees with full bud coverage while neighbouring trees have none, with only new leaves emerging. This pattern is also seen on individual trees, where one branch may be covered in buds while the other remains bare.

Similar conditions are observed in Charghat upazila, where farmers report only seeing leaves on their trees rather than mango pods.

Saiful Islam, a farmer from Charghat's Laodara area, said, "Only leaves are coming on the trees this time. There are no mangoes."

Another farmer, Motaleb Hossain, commented sarcastically that mango farmers might have to "feast on leaves" this year.

Biplob, a mango grower from the upazila's Chara Bottola area, said that he sold Tk22 lakh worth of mangoes last year. This year he will not even get Tk2 lakh worth of mangoes.

However, Charghat Upazila Agriculture Officer Al Mamun Hasan said that 50% of the buds have turned into pods in the upazila. The Department of Agricultural Extension, Rajshahi, also confirmed that 65% of the mango buds in the district are currently pea-sized and 35% are marble-sized.

Some farmers, like Abdur Razzak, are taking a proactive approach. He said that pods have appeared on 500 out of 900 trees in his orchard. He is busy taking care of them and has done the second round of pesticide spraying on the trees.

There was a bumper production of mangoes last year. However, it was not possible to make a profit due to not getting the expected price of mangoes, Razzak added.

Yadul Islam, who has rented 376 mango trees inside the field of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for three years, said that although the buds are less in other places, the buds in his orchard were good this year, with about 75% of the trees having mango buds. 

However, due to the hailstorms in the last few days, many buds have rotted and fallen off.

Sabina Begum, additional deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, said that mangoes survive by facing natural calamities. If the existing buds on the trees survive and the farmers take proper care, the target set for mango production will be met.

Mahmudul Faruque, additional director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, said that there are a lot of buds in the new mango orchards in Naogaon this year. 

However, relatively fewer buds have appeared on the big trees of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj. Mangoes are being produced on 93 thousand hectares of land in Naogaon, Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj.