Time to have a taste of mangoes

Mango will be ready for harvest in second week of April, according to Horticulture Assistant Director P.M. Subbani

Here is a good news for the connoisseurs of fruits. The market pundits has fixed April 10 as the day of mango harvest and within a couple of days the market will be flooded with ‘Rasalu’, the juicy variety of the fruit. Those eager to sink their teeth in the ‘Banganapalli’ variety will have to wait for a few days more.

“The fruit is well past the vulnerable marble-size stage,” says Assistant Director of Horticulture P.M.Subbani. Mango would be ready for harvest first in the gardens of Gampalagudem, Reddigudem, Vissannapet and A.Konduru.

Availability

Plotting the graph of availability of the fruit, he said harvesting likely to start in second week of April and would peak by month end and it will come to an end in the first week of May.

Mango is cultivated in Krishna district in 65,000 hectares. Thousands of tonnes of mangos arrive at the Nunna Fruit Market here and are repacked for a longer journey to places as far as New Delhi and Kolkota.

In the season the different varieties of the fruit are savoured in a myriad ways. It is eaten when raw and after ripening.

It is also used as a condiment in every possible local curry and other cuisine and is even made into a jam or a pickle to be consumed till the season comes again.

Fruit infested In a note of caution, Mr Subbani says that the fruit was infested by Black Sooty Mould and Anthracnose in some gardens at Agiripalli and Yanamadala because of untimely drizzles.

He said the ‘king of fruit’ was being exported to some Gulf countries and Singapore from gardens of Krishna and Khammam districts.