Mango bud care

As the winter Konkan is cold and the weather is favorable, the trees have started budding a month earlier.

Although the farmers are hopeful about this, the mango farmers are worried because of the adverse weather and double maintenance costs due to climate change.
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Talking to the mango farmers, it is known that due to late winter and high temperature this year, mango buds have started coming a month earlier. However, the farmers are worried about the sudden cold weather like last year with thick fog and rain throughout the day, but the agriculture department claims that if there is no adverse weather or rain in the winter like last year, this weather is not a cause of harm for mangoes, but a blessing.
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Besides, this year is a good year for mangoes, so the quantity of mango buds will also increase. However, a section of mango growers say that heavy fog will not cause much damage to mangoes until the buds begin to emerge and the buds turn into full-fledged flowers.

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Various orchards in the district were visited, despite the high cost of fertilizers, the farmers have taken care of the orchards for the first time by fertilizing the trees three months in advance and loosening the soil around the trees. This year, the farmers have applied a single spray of pesticides in the orchards where early buds have appeared. However, this year the cost of maintenance has almost doubled, so the farmers will suffer losses if they do not get a fair price for mangoes.

Mango farmers complain that this year, every 50 kg of fertilizer is Tk 100, workers' wages have increased to Tk 100 on average, irrigation cost has increased to Tk 200 on average. But due to the increased production of mangoes in the whole country, the farmers are suffering losses due to not getting the price of mangoes. Farmers claim that if the price of mangoes is the same as last year, this year at least the mango farmers will avoid losses.

Farmers said that sulfur 55 EC should be given when mango buds appear and mencogen balinash should be applied when buds turn into flowers. But it has been found that the price of sulfur has increased from 150 to 170 per 300 gram packet, 55 EC of 55 ml bottle has increased from 450 to 550, and the price of mencogen has increased from 500 taka to 580 taka.

On the other hand, the price of DAP fertilizer of 50 kg bag has increased from 800 to 900 taka and the price of potash fertilizer has increased from 750 taka to 850 taka per bag.

Meanwhile, the labor and machine rent for one bigha garden has increased from Tk 1700 to Tk 2500. After fertilizing mango trees, the cost of irrigation increased from Tk 120 to Tk 180 per hour.

In this regard, Yusuf Ali, a mango farmer of Shibganj's Chakkitti area, said that last year he failed to produce safe mangoes and export them abroad, so he was forced to sell them in the country's markets. However, last year, because of the higher prices of mangoes in comparison, they avoided losses. Before this, in the last 3 years, due to the lack of price of mangoes and the lack of demand for mangoes during the Corona period, they counted a loss of Tk 50 lakhs.

On the other hand, Monirul Islam, a mango grower of Pithalitala village in Shibganj, said that if there is a mango garden, one must take care of it. Due to the loss, the family is already burdened, on top of that, the cost of care has doubled, and the condition is like a sore on the dying.

Another mango grower, Tariqul, said that like every year, despite producing fruit bagging mangoes last year, the mango orchards are now a thorn in the neck as the demand for mangoes in the domestic market has decreased and the demand for mangoes has decreased as expected abroad. However, the demand for mangoes will increase if the government takes initiative to increase the opportunity to export the produced mangoes abroad. The farmer will survive. If the farmers survive, the economy of the district will be strengthened.
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Atiq, a farmer of Sadar Upazila, said that the mango orchards should be looked after in a scientific manner, leaving the old method and using more pesticides. Also, the way the government is subsidizing the farmers, giving incentives or subsidies to the mango growers will save the district's mango industry. Otherwise, the situation of mangoes will be similar to the once traditional lac and silk of the district.

General Secretary of the District Agriculture Association, Munjer Alam Manik said that the way the farmers of the district are cutting mango trees without getting the price of mangoes should be stopped. GI products will not benefit if there is no Khirsapat and Fazli mango trees. Therefore, farmers should be given incentives in addition to showing the value of GI products. As there is no cargo plane in the country to export mangoes, we are losing the market due to competition of mango prices abroad. As a result, mango exports have been hit last year. The demand for mangoes in the district will increase if the export of mangoes to foreign countries increases and there are mango-centric industries. Farmers will get the price of mangoes. That is why respectable initiatives are essential.
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3 to 3.5 million mango bags were planted last year in 2021 due to sufficient fruit bags from China to reduce the use of pesticides and produce safe mangoes. But last year due to Corona, 1.5 to 2 crore mangoes were bagged. Last year the export of mangoes was hampered, but this year we are optimistic about the export of mangoes abroad.
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He also said that this year, Germany and Rome have already expressed hope to get safe mangoes from Bangladesh. Importers of these 2 countries have shown interest in buying mangoes if they deliver safe mangoes to the airport. And if mangoes are exported abroad, the farmers will get the price of mangoes.

The deputy director of agriculture extension department, agriculturist, admitted the increase in the price of agricultural products and said that the use of pesticides can be reduced if mango is cultivated with the advice of the agriculture department. This will save the mango maintenance cost of the farmers to some extent.

He said that there will be no damage to the mangoes during the current cold spell and that there will be no damage to the buds if the sunlight comes out after the dense fog. Moreover, this year the winter is expected to be late, so the temperature this year is favorable for mangoes and since this year is an onyar, the production of mangoes will also be high.

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He also said that if there is no untimely calamity this year, there is less risk of damage to mangoes due to early budding. So produced mango b