Date:02/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/02/stories/2007060210890200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Long live the king... and in so many varieties

Staff Reporter

A four-day exhibition of mangoes was inaugurated on Friday

SUCCULENT: Over 150 varieties of mango are on display at the exhibition at Lalbagh in Bangalore. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: Safely cordoned off by security tape and sheltered from the impending monsoon under the large Glass House, the very best pick of more than 150 varieties of mango, both indigenous and exotic, drew the longing gaze of visitors to the mango exhibition at Lalbagh.

The four-day exhibition was inaugurated by Horticulture Minister Shashikanth Naik here on Friday.

The mangoes on display, grown by individuals and institutes such as the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research and GKVK, are also in competition for prizes.

The mangoes will be tested by discerning judges for their colour, maturity and size, and winners announced in three days.

Along with the ever popular Alphonsos and Raspuris, Mallikas and Banganapallis, rare varieties such as the Suvarnarekha (indigenous to Andhra Pradesh) and the exotic Australian Sensation are on display.

There are some unusual mangoes too. The deep red Tommy Atkins, a mango indigenous to Brazil and grown in Florida (which a representative from the Department of Horticulture confessed, did not taste as promising as it looked), and the Sola, a papaya-sized variant of the Banganapalli. "I had no idea so many mangoes existed," said Rabindra Prasad Rai from Orissa. "But it would have been even better if we could have got to taste them!" he added.

Indeed, not quite as many mangoes were up for sale at the stalls. But growers from Kolar, Hassan, Chitradurga and Dharwad were happy to have found a competitive market for their crop at the mango mela.

Gopal Reddy's five-acre farm in Srinivasapura taluk of Kolar yielded him 40 tonnes of Sinduri, Raspuri and Badami this year.

"Had I sold these at a wholesale mango mandi, I would have lost Rs. 10,000 for every tonne. Here, we do away with the middleman, and reach the buyers directly," he said. Buyers too were surprised at the great rates. G. Shadakshari, a visitor, said he had a bought a kilo of Badami mangoes for Rs. 20, when the price anywhere else in the city was not less than Rs. 30.

Land

Later, speaking to presspersons, Mr. Naik said that land had been identified to set up a university dedicated to horticulture. He also said that HOPCOMS would be expanding its number of stalls.

Vasanth Kumar, Director, Horticulture Department, said that despite the fact that India was the number one producer of mangoes, constraints such as poor post harvesting and storage facilities, and marketing gave us a disadvantage in the international market.