BENGALURU: It will be a sweet harvest at the end of a bitter year: the much-loved mango will reach the markets as early as March, and the crop will be good too. A bumper crop means that prices will be low, say officials of the Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Limited (KSMDMCL). The November rainfall may have caused damage to many flowering and standing crops, but some farmers in Ramanagara were able to save some of the flowering trees which will now yield a good crop.
Normally, the crop hits the market in April, or end of March, but this year, it will arrive by March, said KSMDMCL chairman C G Nagaraju. “The weather is fluctuating frequently. Rain during the flowering season affects the crops, but now the weather is dry and sunny, so the fruits are ripening on time and the crop will be early. Ramanagara’s first crop of Sindhura will hit the market in March, followed by Badami in April. Then crops from Kolar and Chikkaballapur will also come into the market,” he said.He said that this time, farmers were worried because of heavy rainfall in November, but were able to save some of the crops, resulting in an early yield.
According to the board, the early crops are Badami, Sindhura and Raspuri, the mid-season crops are Mallika, Malgova and Banesha (Banganapalli) and the late crops are Totapuri and Neelam. “The is the ‘on year’ for mango so we are expecting a bumper crop, but the weather is fickle. Last year, despite the Covid and lockdown, farmers made good business because of online sales, with 100 tonnes sold online through post offices and e-business platforms.
This year too, we are holding talks with all platforms for more tie-ups to help farmers,” Nagaraju said. In 2018, the crop was good, but prices were low so farmers did not benefit. In 2019, crop was less and prices were high, and in 2020 too, crop was less, but farmers benefited despite Covid.