Changes In Orchards

HIS year mango production has been rather good and growers have realised that they need to get rid of the bad reputation they received last year. Hundreds of tonnes of mangoes were destroyed by law enforcers last year when the summer fruit was found to be tainted with toxic chemicals. Use of chemicals to ripen them and to control pests was rampant last year. This year, things have changed for the better. Many orchard owners have started using an organic bag, supplied by the government, to protect their fruits from pests. The use of ripening agents had dropped significantly. However, there were a handful of orchard owners who did not care about anything and used ripening agents and pesticides on their mangoes. Photo: Anisur Rahman