Better quality of mangoes to start arriving in markets soon

After a break of two years, the corporation will be holding the mango mela in the last week of May

There is some good news for mango lovers. A better quality of the king of the fruits will start arriving at markets soon. Though delayed by nearly a month, the better quality of table varieties will soon be available, albeit in smaller quantities than before.

For the fourth consecutive year, mango production in the State has been hit. According to estimates by Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Ltd., the yield this year will be around 8 lakh tonnes, against the normal 13-15 lakh tonnes.

However, K. Srinivas Gowda, president of Chickballapur Mango Growers’ Association, disagreed and claimed the total yield would be far lesser, at just around 4 lakh tonnes.

C.G. Nagaraju, managing director of the mango corporation, attributed the low production to unseasonal heavy rains till December last year. This delayed the flowering to February. Also, due to high moisture content, the flowering quality was also affected. The rains also brought in physiological changes in the trees, leading to more vegetative growth, which affected fruit formation.

As a result, the arrival of mangoes in the market was delayed. Usually, the fruits from Ramanagaram and surrounding areas reach the market by April, followed by Kolar and surrounding areas. This year, owing to unseasonal rains, the Ramanagaram cycle synchronised with the Kolar cycle. “This also means that mangoes may be available for an extended period this year,” he said.

After a break of two years, the mango corporation will be holding the mango mela in the last week of May. Over the past two years, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mela was held online, as the corporation pushed online sales and sales through linkages with various apartments across the city.

The corporation has begun enlisting farmers and suppliers for the mela. “To ensure more sales, the corporation is looking to finalise the dates for the mela around the two-day weekend at the end of May,” sources said.