Mango season in city off to a slow start

Chennai: The mango season has begun in the city, but without the first summer showers, it is yet to gather pace. Farmers in Andhra Pradesh and other southern states are holding back large-scale harvests, waiting for rain to plump up the fruit and deepen its flavour.A trickle of early-season Banganapalli mangoes from Andhra Pradesh has reached Koyambedu wholesale fruit market, where they are priced at about 120 a kilogram and up to 220 in retail stores. Customers, however, say the fruit lacks sweetness and aroma. "This is because the season has not picked up yet," said K Jayaraman, a wholesale trader and member of the market management committee. Instead of the 50 to 60 truckloads that fill the market in peak months, fewer than 15 arrive each day. "We expect the season to pick up by the end of April. The quality will be good if there are summer showers," he said.Farmers from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are assuring a good harvest of varieties such as Sindhoora, Imam Pasand and Alphonso, he added. Vendors expect farmers from within TN and from Palakkad in Kerala to send in these varieties by early May and say Banganapalli mangoes from Andhra Pradesh will flood the market by then. Experts say pre-monsoon rain adds moisture that helps mangoes bulk up, increasing the amount of pulp while washing off dust, pollutants and pesticide residues.