BANGALORE: The Horticulture Department is organising ‘Mango Mela’, a 15-day sale of mangoes, at Lalbagh from Friday. The expo will be open from 8 am to 7 pm. Several varieties of jackfruit will also be on sale and fruits grown on 250 acres at Lalbagh will be displayed.
Horticulture Department Director G Satish told reporters on Wednesday that in the absence of middlemen, visitors can expect to get good quality mangoes at up to 20 per cent less than retail prices.
They can choose from Badami, Banaganapalli, Raspuri, Mallika, Sindura, Malgova, Totapuri, Neelam, Ratna, Amrapali and Kesar varieties.
He noted that mango prices have shot up owing to fall in production as there was less rainfall. The department is expecting produce of only four lakh metric tonnes.
About the ban on the Alphonso variety, Satish said the European Union did so as it suspected that pathogens would affect crops in their countries.
Over 9,000 metric tonnes of Alphonso mangoes are exported to the Middle East every year, said Dr Jayaprakash, Additional Director of Fruits, Horticulture Department. All varieties to go on sale are ripened organically, he insisted, adding that they will be priced below HOPCOMS’ rates.
The Horticulture department has set up a committee to monitor rates of fruits every five days and revise them. The quality of the fruits will be checked before they go on sale.
Go Gaga Over Jackfruit
Apart from mango, the Horticulture Department will also sell jackfruit at the mela. Mangoes will be sold in 75 stalls and jackfruit in 15 stalls. Dr S Shyamalamma, Associate Professor, Department of Biotechnology, University of Agriculture Sciences, GKVK, said, “From 2010, the department has been keen on promoting jackfruit. For every jackfruit weighing over 2 kg, a farmer gets Rs 200; earlier they would get only Rs 50”. The Horticulture department has identified 240 acres in Hiriyur to grow jackfruit.
HOPCOMS’ MANGO PRICES (as on Wednesday)
Badami- Rs 70
Banaganapalli- Rs50
Dasheri- Rs 75
Malgova- Rs 82
Mallika- Rs 66
Raspuri- Rs 54
Sakkaregutti- Rs 60
Sindhura- Rs 33
Totapuri- Rs 16