This year’s mango and litchi harvest in Parsa district was valued at Rs150 million, a big jump from last year as the present season coincides with the fruiting season of mango. The trees bear fruit every alternate year.

According to the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), mangoes worth Rs135 million and litchis worth Rs20 million were produced this year.

The reason behind the increase in the yield is that this year is the season for mango production, said Shyam Kishor Prashad Kurmi, technical assistant for horticulture at the DADO.

Mangoes, known as the king of fruits, are grown on 448 hectares of land in Parsa. Output totalled 2,610 tonnes this year in the district, according to the DADO.

“Calculated on the basis of the average selling price of Rs50 per kg, the total value of the district’s mango harvest comes to Rs130 million,” said Kurmi.

Likewise, around 400 tonnes of litchi were produced on 50 hectares of land. Calculated on the basis of the average selling price of Rs50 per kg, the district’s litchi production is worth Rs20 million.

According to Kurmi, the bumper mango harvest was due to favourable weather conditions. There were no storms or hailstorms this year which can cause havoc to mango groves. Mangos and litchis are grown in Gadi, Kauwabankataiya and Bahuarwabhatha areas in the district. Kurmi said many people didn’t engage in large scale commercial farming of mango and litchi. Most of the farmers own around a dozen trees each.

Litchi provides higher returns than mango, and many farmers in the middle Tarai are engaged in growing the fruit. As litchi has a ready market, there is growing attraction towards this fruit among farmers.

Mango varieties such as maldaha, bambai and kalkatiya are mostly cultivated in Parsa. Lately, there has been a growing trend of cultivating amrapali and mallika varieties of the fruit. Kurmi said that the government should provide quality mango and litchi seeds to increase production and discourage imports from India.