Kesar Mango Keri Talala Junagadh District News Gujarat India

Unlike last year, when poor flowering of mango trees had reduced the fruit’s crop in the state, growers in Gujarat are expecting a bumper mango crop this summer. The flowering season of mango trees is at its peak and, according to horticulturists, mango trees in the state have flowered satisfactorily. In fact, the flowering has been so timely that nearly 80% of the crop has already started budding.

Kesar Mango growers are confident that even if the weather turns hostile for a short period, the size and quality of the crop will not be adversely affected. Last year, bad weather had spoiled the prospects of the mango crop from the very beginning, making the fruit very expensive for ordinary people.

“As nearly 80% of the flowering has already taken place, we believe we will have a good mango crop this year,” said DP Patel, a horticulture officer in Valsad. It is worth mentioning that Valsad City is the heartland of Alphonso (Hafoos) production. Alphonso is the most sought after mango variety of the state.

Mango growers, however, say that the first two weeks of February will be very crucial. If the weather does not deteriorate, mangoes will be available this year in abundance and at affordable prices.

Ajit Desai is chairman managing director of Desai Fruits and Vegetables, a leading fruit exporter of Navsari. He said the problem with the mango crop last year started with the flowering.

“There was only 20% to 25% flowering last year,” he said “But this time it looks normal. Therefore, we expect the volume and quality of the mango crop this year to be fine.” Desai, too, said that everything depends on the weather conditions in the next 2-3 weeks.

“The crop of the local and exotic varieties of mangoes in the state will also be good this summer,” said MC Varshneya, vice-chancellor of Anand Agricultural University. “Good weather conditions for the mango crop prevailed in December. That has helped a lot.”Even in Saurashtra, where Kesar Keris are grown on a large scale, growers of the fruit are expecting a good crop this season.

Kesar growers in Junagadh and Talala, too, are optimistic. “If the weather continues to cooperate, you can expect Kesar from Junagadh and Talala Taluka to arrive in the markets in May,” said Dhirubhai Bhakhar, president of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Junagadh District. “But we can’t say anything about prices at this juncture.”