KURNOOL: Summer is here, so is the craze for Banginapalli variety of mangoes. The variety is not much visible in the market as it has been cultivated only in 600 hectares across the district. Each mango is being sold at approximately Rs 70 to Rs 90 apiece. Each mango weighs not less that 450 gm to 900 gm. There is a demand for this variety in the Arab world too.
This variety is cultivated in Kurnool, Krishna, West Godavari, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh and Khammam, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Medak districts in Telangana. In Kurnool district, the mango crops occupied 10,000 hectares and the Banginapalli crop is spread over 2,500 hectares, but now this fruit has been cultivated only in 600 hectares in the district. The reason for this is the poor rainfall in the last five years.
Despite the popularity of the fruit and high demand in the market, farmers of Banginapalli are unhappy because of steep price fluctuations.
The fruit is controlled by middlemen which forces the farmers to auction the orchards before the onset of flowering. Banginapalli is obliquely oval with an unblemished golden yellow thin edible skin and the pulp is fibreless, firm and yellow with sweet taste. District Horticulture Assistant Director K Raghunath Reddy said that this mango variety was now being cultivated in 600 hectares across the district compared to other crops because of high maintenance.
“Also, there are no water sources to cultivate Banginapalli or other fruits in the district due to continuous drought,” he said. The Assistant Director further said that the farmers were not ready to bear regular losses with the crop.
K Venkatramudu, farmer from Sultanapuram, said that earlier, he used to cultivate the variety in 4 acres, but now it is only in one acre. “Due to inadequate rainfall in the last five years, we are cultivating other crops which require less water.”