Bumper crop

there is good news for mango lovers. According to the Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture Research in Lucknow, this year's mango crop is set to break all records of the past 20 years. Favourable weather conditions have helped extensive flowering in the mango orchards in Uttar Pradesh.

However, growers of the famous dussheri (a popular variety of mango) of Malihabad are sore at the government's apathy in providing adequate infrastructure for the export market. Besides, they are also complaining about packaging and transportation of the produce to big cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Kamal Khan, a major mango grower in Malihabad, said, "We have only access to wooden boxes made out of eucalyptus wood. These are too delicate to provide a good shelf life to the fruit."