Collect and market mangoes in Bangladesh

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In the 50 years of independence, Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in agriculture. In addition to achieving self-sufficiency in cereal production, fruit production has increased manifold. Dependence on imports of foreign fruits has come down a lot and the production and supply of domestic fruits has increased. Mango is an important cash and popular fruit in Bangladesh. Although the country is small in size, it is the eighth largest producer of mango. Even then, the demand for this delicious seasonal fruit is increasing day by day in the country and abroad.
The socio-economic status of mango growing areas is largely dependent on mangoes where 60-65% of the people are directly or indirectly involved in mangoes. Mango is one of the commercially produced fruits at present. However, the post-harvest loss of this mango is only 30-31 percent, which was above 40 percent even three years ago. BBS 2019 data analysis shows that one third of the total production (about 3 lakh tonnes) is wasted before it reaches the consumer. However, according to DAE, Khamarbari, Dhaka, the loss is about 6 lakh metric tons. According to BBS and DAE sources, about Rs 1,500-3,000 crore worth of mangoes are lost every year. The main reasons for this are not good quality of mangoes, lack of necessary precautions in collection, transportation and marketing of mangoes and lack of any measures for short and long term storage of mangoes. There is ample opportunity to reduce this huge loss. In fact, starting from the mango growing stage, it is possible to reduce the loss of mangoes and reach out to the good quality mango buyers by taking precautions and measures at every step of mango collection, sorting, preparation for shipment, transportation, marketing, storage.
Mango orchard care during mango growth
After the mango cocoon is blocked, the cocoon starts to fall. Then various diseases and insects attack. Therefore, in the dry season, the garden should be irrigated to reduce cocoon drop first. If there is no irrigation facility, water can be sprayed on the tree. Studies have shown that boron powder or boric acid mixed in 10 liters of water at the rate of 60 gm from mango peas to marble-shaped period of time reduces fruit drop. Another study found that urea fertilizer at the rate of 20 grams per liter of water can be sprayed well to reduce the drop of mango pods. In addition, in this case, according to the rules, pesticides and fungicides should be mixed together and sprayed in the prescribed doses. However, understanding the condition of the soil, irrigation should be arranged for 25-30 consecutive days. In that case mango growth and yield will be good. Measures must be taken to control mango fruit borers and flies. One thing to keep in mind is that the more rain water falls on the mango, the faster the color of the mango will be lost and the storage time will be reduced. As a result, fruit bagging technology is most effective in the climate of this country. In case of early and middle varieties, the age of the cocoon is 40-50 days and in case of Nabi variety up to 55-60 days, if bagging technology is adopted, the use of pesticides will not be required. Using this technology, it is possible to increase the production of good quality mangoes.
Mango collection
Mangoes should be collected as soon as they reach proper maturity. Mangoes should not be collected from trees until they reach full maturity as malnourished mangoes do not ripen properly and do not retain the right color. In addition the top shell shrinks resulting in lower market value. When fully nourished, the skin on the upper part of the mango, i.e. the skin below the stem, will turn slightly yellowish. The relative importance of mango will be between 1.01-1.02 i.e. mature mango will be submerged in water. Naturally, one or two ripe mangoes will fall from the tree and half ripe mangoes will sting the birds. Collecting before or after the appropriate time can lead to various problems later.
Mangoes should be collected with utmost care. Mangoes can be planted from mango trees in two ways, by hand and using collectors. When the height of the tree is low, it can be easily laid by hand, but when the tree is big, mango collector or tusi made of bamboo is used. Mangoes should be collected from the trees on cloudless, sunny days and in the morning. I have to keep it upside down for a while so that the glue does not fall off properly and does not stick to the mango. Mangoes should be removed to a cool place as soon as possible after collection. Mango can be planted in stages to facilitate marketing. Mango should not be sprayed with pesticides or fungicides within 12-15 days of planting.
Sorting or grading
Sorting of collected mangoes is essential to facilitate proper marketing. Injured, diseased, infested and mature trees should be kept separate. Because these mangoes rot very quickly. Normal, bright and nutritious mangoes should be picked and packed for delivery to distant markets. Before packing any fruit, it should be divided into small, medium and large to facilitate packing, transportation and marketing.
Suppression of postoperative decomposition
After felling from the mango tree, the putrefaction of mango must be controlled. Eco-friendly methods should be used instead of pesticides to keep mangoes disease free or to prevent rot of collected mangoes. Such as purifying mangoes in hot water. In this case, shortly after collecting the fruits from the tree, the post-harvest decomposition of mango can be suppressed by soaking for 5-6 minutes at a temperature of 55 সেন C. However, after the collection of mangoes in developed countries, mangoes are purified using a certain amount of fungicide.
Packing
The arrangement of mangoes to reach the consumer after collection is called packing. Packing is essential for sending mangoes to distant places. This is because the body of the mango is quite soft and can be slightly injured and can be attacked by germs. The following rules should be followed while packing mangoes. Bamboo baskets are mainly used in mango packing in our country. It is more reasonable to transport mangoes in perforated wooden boxes than in bamboo baskets. However, the best arrangement is to transport the mangoes in plastic crates. However, if possible, it is better to spread some straw on the bottom of the packet and wrap each mango with tissue paper or newsprint. The name of the fruit, the name of the variety, the name of the recipient etc. should be written on each packet. If I treat it in hot water before packing, the color of mango becomes slightly yellow. It stays disease free for several days and the taste of mango increases.
Transportation
In our country mango is mainly transported by road as it takes less time. Moreover, rickshaws, vans, autorickshaws, boats and bullock carts are used to transport mangoes from the garden to the market. Care must be taken in transporting mango fruits. For example, while loading, unloading and transporting mangoes in vehicles, care should be taken not to injure the fruit or the packet. It is better not to waste too much time in transportation, as there is a risk of mango rot. Packets should be opened and mangoes should be stored as soon as the transport is over. If you transport mangoes in packs, there is more pressure on the lower mangoes and there is a risk of injury.
Warehousing
Mangoes need to be stored at different stages from planting to sale after planting. Even after any fruit is picked from the tree, various biological processes continue in it. Therefore, care needs to be taken while storing mangoes. For example, the room in which mangoes are kept must be well ventilated and cool. Electric fan can be used if required. Mangoes ripen quickly and decompose easily in humid climates and indoors. Therefore, ripe mangoes should not be stored in the warehouse for a long time and should be sold soon. The lower the room temperature, the better. However, if stored at a temperature of 20-25 degrees centigrade, weight loss is reduced.