Mango trees in the district famous for quality varieties of the popular fruit sees profuse flowering amid favourable weather conditions this year, making the growers hopeful of a bumper yield.
"Eighty eight percent mango trees in the orchards and homesteads have already bloomed and the flowering still continues. We expect at least 2.50 lakh tonnes of mangoes from 19 lakh trees on 24,260 hectares of land in the district this season," said Saiful Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Chapainawabganj.
Last year, there were 18.50 lakh mango trees on 24,250 hectares of land in the district and 2.30 lakh tonnes of mango was produced, DAE sources said.    
Dr Mohammad Zamir Uddin, scientific officer of Regional Horticulture Research Station, said they expect a bumper mango production this season if the weather continues to remain favourable in the next few months. 
"I have around 200 mango trees in my orchard and about 90 percent of the trees are in full bloom now," said Abul Kashem of Nayalabhanga village in Shibganj upazila.
Mango is the most important agricultural product in the region and income and livelihood of a large number of people is highly dependent on it.
Besides the growers, a large number of people are engaged in different jobs, including nursing, harvesting and packing during the mango season in the region that has a long tradition of producing at least 250 varieties of mango, said scientists and agricultural officials.
Despite hope of bumper yield, mango growers, traders, and lease holders of orchards have expressed concern about political unrest in the country, saying that if the situation continues, they will face huge losses as the business will badly suffer due to transportation problem.