Village lifeline

Chaibasa, Aug. 5: Next summer, people would soon be able to get a taste of hybrid mangoes cultivated in Saranda forest.

The district forest department has undertaken a massive drive to plant hybrid mango trees in the 10-odd forest villages in Saranda. The planting, a first of its kind in the state, would be done during the monsoon and the plants are expected to yield fruits by the next season.

The step is being taken to discourage forest-dwellers from axing trees and selling them in the local market in order to earn livelihood.

Territorial divisional forest officer (Saranda) Satyajit Singh said many tribals are indulged in cutting trees in the Saranda forest. They supply wood to the timber mafia, who meet the requirement of packaging industry.

“There are hundreds of families staying in the forest villages. Their economy is based on agriculture and other forest products. But we want to engage them in selling mangoes in the Singhbhum-Kolhan market,” Singh said.

The forest department has procured saplings of the varieties found in Malda and others from Bengal to be planted in the villages. Around 1,100 trees have been transported from Bengal.

The climate in Saranda is suitable for plantation of such hybrid mangoes, said the forest official.

“The mangoes basically require frost-free climate. Flowers and small fruits could wither if the temperature drops below 40°F even for a short period. Young trees may be seriously damaged if the temperature drops below 30°F, but mature trees may withstand very short periods of temperatures, as low as 25°F,” Singh said.

The forest officer said tribals could easily harvest hybrid mangoes from the forest and sell them in the local market. “The local market is flooded with mangoes from other states. Consumers have to pay a high price for eating such mangoes. If good quality mangoes are available at lower prices, then they would be in demand,” Singh said.

The forest department will chart out a strategy for post-harvest management of mangoes. “The tribals need to be informed about packaging.”