MANGO THE SECOND LARGEST CROP OF D.I.KHAN

Mango is one the most famous fruit in Pakistan.
It is the second largest fruit crop of District Dera Ismail Khan, where JEN is currently working. In D.I. Khan there are approximately 1,500 mango orchards. It is one of the biggest sources of income of local farmers and many labors are earning from it in its season.

Mango is native fruit of Indian sub continent, Burma and Andaman Islands. Buddhist monks took mango plants and seeds to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 5th Century B.C. From there mango reach to Africa, Brazil, West Indies, Barbados and Jamaica.

Unlikely other tropical countries, mangoes in Pakistan are available in only one season (summer).

Different types of mangoes are grown in Dera Ismail khan with the local names which are difficult to pronounce in English i.e. Anwar Rathor , Langrra, Cheeta Choonsa, Fajiri, Doosiri, Samar Bahisht, Shan-e-khuda, Sindhri, 12 number Rathor, Golden, Malda and Local variety .




The mango takes about 3 months from the time of fruit set to mature and ripen. Some varieties may take 3 to 4 months. Fruits are plucked from the tree when they are still hard and green. When a few semi-ripe fruits fall from the tree, it is traditionally considered that the fruits are mature for harvest.




The mangoes are plucked in a very simple way through locally made net (shown in pictures) to reduce damages.




Two labors required in plucking of mangoes from one tree. The orchards are sold to local contractors normally for one season. The contractors normally hire 8 labors for an orchard of 6 acres.

During travel I have eaten mangoes of different countries, e.g Indonesia, Thailand, Haiti and Dominican Republic but for me the best ever and tasty mangoes are from Pakistan and it is cheapest here as compare in the other countries. We can buy 1 KG of mangoes on Rs. 80 (60 JPY) in the season.