Two new varieties of Rajshahi mango – BARI Falsa-1 and BARI Mango-14 –have recently been registered with the National Seed Board. The BARI Falsa-1 is indigenous, while BARI Mango-14 is from Saudi Arabia originally. Rajshahi Horticulture Research Centre had applied for the registration after prolonged research on the two varieties of mango.
Former Chief Scientific Officer Golam Murtuza of the Chapainawabganj Horticulture Research Centre had gone to Saudi Arabia and worked there as a researcher on mango orchards, said Dr Alim Uddin, Principal Scientific Officer of Rajshahi Horticulture Research Centre.
As he returned home in 2010, Murtuza brought some branches of 'Tomyatkins' variety of mango from there and handed them over to Rajshahi Horticulture Research Centre. Those branches were later grafted but all but one perished. From the grafted branch that could be kept alive, four mother saplings were developed and they are now grown and have been bearing fruits for the last 10 years.
According to information, the BARI Mango-14 takes a maroon colour when it ripens – at the end of July. The average weight of the mango is 550 grams with its 75.35 per cent consumable. BARI Falsa-1 tastes both sweet and sour is very popular among children.
