The sweet jewel of Gour

When the mango season is waning but cravings for the delectable fruit are as strong as ever, what does one do? Well, don't worry, because nature has found a way to satisfy. In Chapainawabganj in recent years a new variety, the gourmoti mango, has been gaining popularity for its consistent size and shape, and for ripening later in the year. Derived from a single tree discovered by chance in a mango orchard at Baliadighi near Sonamasjid in 2012, the gourmoti variety is entirely the work of nature's hand.

“When we explored the orchard in 2012,” says the gourmoti's discoverer and deputy director of Chapainawabganj horticulture centre Dr Saifur Rahman, “there were 250 trees to examine. Only one tree was entirely different to the others. From it we collected the first saplings to plant at our own orchard the following year.” Saplings were also distributed to 21 other horticulture centres across the country to assist in verifying the growth and fruiting properties of the variety.

The area of Baliadighi village is a part of the ancient Bengal capital of Gour. 'Moti' is a kind of precious stone. Thus the gourmoti was named; and for mango-lovers nationwide, since the first harvests from the horticulture centre trees took place in 2015, it is indeed proving to be a new, mango gem. Steps are currently underway to expand cultivation.

“The tree has shown itself to be very regular,” says Dr Rahman. “It produces a lot of fruit of a very uniform size. These properties are attracting growers to the gourmoti.”

The gourmoti ripens in the month of September, when other mangoes are hard to find. Its skin is deep green, and the fruit is known to have very little fibre, a pleasant aroma and sweet taste, akin to more familiar langra mangoes, except that with a higher soluble sugar content, the gourmoti is sweeter than the langra. The tree however, resembles an ashwina mango tree.

“The late ripening time of the gourmoti will ensure its popularity,” says Dr Rahman. “At a time when other mangoes are unavailable, the gourmoti will be there.”

Growers are already catching on. “One mango trader, Jahangir Hossain, leased the orchard in Baliadighi with the original gourmoti tree,” says Johurul Islam, a scientist at the horticulture centre. “Last year he sold more than 16,000 maunds of the mangoes.”

“I have established a gourmoti mango orchard on seven bighas of land,” says local businessman Moshiur Rahman, from the Nayagola area of Chapainawabganj municipality. Habibur Rahman, an orchardist from Jamtala village in Sadar upazila is likewise convinced, having dedicated four bighas to the gourmoti.

“Many growers are buying gourmoti saplings nowadays,” says Dr Rahman. The horticulture centre has sold more than ten thousand of them, for Tk 80 each.

According to the deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Chapainawabganj, Monjurul Huda, local orchards accommodate around 19 lakh mango trees in total, set across 26,150 hectares. Around 350 mango varieties are produced in the district, with harvests totalling approximately 2.4 lakh tonnes of mangoes annually.