Pilikula exhibits varieties of mango as Vasantotsava gets underway

Mangaluru, May 21: A two -day Vasantotsava got underway at Dr Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama on Saturday providing connoisseurs of fruits a chance to savor a variety of tantalizing food products.

A few tonnes of mangos and other fruits including jackfruit arrived at the Nisargadhama for this sale-cum-exhibition of fruits. Some of the varieties of mangos that are available are Badami, Raspuri, Mallika, Sindhuri, Neelam, Mundappa, Malgoa and Totapuri.

In addition to these, local wild mango varieties such as Nekkare, Gadde Mavu and Sakkare Mavu too are available. The jackfruit varieties that are available are Toobinakere (from Doddaballapur district), Chandra Bakke, Raja Rudraskshi and Sadananda.

M Kamalakshi Rajanna, chairperson, Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation Ltd formally inaugurated jointly the fruits fair organised by Pilikula Nisargadhama and the Corporation. Speaking on the occasion, she said lack of export hub in Karnataka has forced the state to concede the second spot in mango production to Maharashtra.

"Most mango produced in Northern Karnataka is exported via Maharashtra and this has given us the impetus to develop mango market domestically within the state," she noted.

"We have urged the Centre to provide us with an export gateway for mango in Karnataka," she said adding there is good demand for mangoes grown in the state in Australia, USA, Europe and Malaysia. A total of 4,576 farmers from Karnataka have registered themselves with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority enabling them to directly export after obtaining statutory clearances from the Authority including plant quarantine certificate.

With each mango importing nation insisting on their own set of tests, the corporation has entered in to a MoU with a Malur based bio-park to carry out necessary battery of tests. "The bio-park charges Rs 80 for these tests and the Corporation through the government provides a 50% subsidy to the registered farmers to help boost exports," she said. The tests vary from vapor heat treatment to gamma irradiation demanded by nations such as Japan and USA, she noted.