Bhubaneswar: An exhibition of more than 100 varieties of the king of fruits, mango, formed part of the inaugural day attractions at a two-day, state-level mango festival that got under way at Aiginia, here, Sunday. The exhibition had 30 stalls.
Mango Festival 2018 is being organised by the department of agriculture and farmer empowerment at the Central Horticultural Experiment Center, Aiginia. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the exhibition.
“Mango is the king of fruits and Odisha is proud to showcase its own varieties of mango. With so many varieties, the state is also exporting mangoes to different parts of the country. More and more farmers should avail of the facilities provided by the government and the horticulture department to improve their yield,” the CM said.
The chief highlight of the exhibition was a stall set up by the regional station of Indian institute of Horticulture research, Bangalore. It had 160 varieties of mango from around the country on display.
Besides mangoes, the stalls also showcased farming equipment, including the ‘fertidrill’ and ‘mango harvester’ developed by CHES (ICAR-IIHR), Bhubaneswar.
A food court formed an attractive sidelight with a wide array of mango-based foods including mango juice, mango salad, jellies, and pickles. “There were several different food items made from mango under one roof. It was wonderful,” Sumitra Dei, a visitor from Aiginia, said. Jhuni Samal, another visitor who had come with her friend Meena Dayal, found the fresh mango salad refreshingly tasty.
However, the second day will feature only an interactive technical session with farmers, officials said.
