Malda is all set to have a bumper mango harvest this year, and if what officials of the district horticulture department say is anything to go by, the yield will be highest in the last 15 years.

The officials attribute the same to favourable weather conditions this season. The officials hope that the production may easily surpass the 4 lakh metric ton (MT) mark this year, which is a record that has not been broken in recent years.

As per the records at the department, 3.75 lakh MT has remained as the highest production in an ‘on year’ (alternate year having greater yield) in 2015, though the concept of this ‘on’ and ‘off’ year has been obsolete with the application of latest scientific methods.

“The primary stats of mango cultivation this year is very much attractive and the small fruits in the trees have already started to grow bigger with a stronger hold on the branches due to the rains in the district almost in a gap of a week. The only anxiety is hailstorms, which damage mango severely, otherwise the yield will easily reach the 4 lakh mark,” the assistant director of the department, Rahul Chakrabarty, said.

Mr Chakrabarty also expressed concern about an insect that commonly attacks mangoes at this stage, in which the insect eats the upper skin of the fruit, resulting into darkening of the whole fruit. As a remedy, he suggested that the farmers spray insecticides.

On the other hand, the popular mangoes of Malda are also set to reach European countries like France and Italy through export agencies of Kolkata as was decided in a meeting of the district horticulture officials with the agencies in the presence of officials of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

“The mango packing house in Malda which was earlier not in a state for packing mangoes for export is now ready for the same, including the hot water treatment and storage of the fruits to go for a long journey abroad,” Mr Chakrabarty said.

Not only the department, but growers of the king of fruits in the district are also expecting a huge yield this year. “Favourable weather and the size of the growing mangoes now do kindle our hopes for a huge production this year,” Loknath Kumar, a reputed and award-winning mango grower, said. The general secretary of Mango Growers’ Association, Ujjal Chowdhury, also said they would be looking forward to export mangoes from here.