Reliance to produce 3,569 tonnes of mangoes each year

Jamnagar, Mar 30 (UNI) Industrial giant Reliance will soon have another first to its credit -- it is poised to become the largest Mango fruit grower in the world and is also set to export the 'king of fruits' with an annual production touching over 500 metric tonnes.

The 7,500 acres of sprawling orchards next to its huge oil refineries here in this port town has been watered through drip irrigation, Mr T M Thimmiah, Chief Horticulturist told UNI.

He said the mangoes are being readied for exports and an automatic grading machine and a ripening chamber is in place. Almost 50 per cent of the produce is going to be exported. The rest is consumed within the country especially Mumbai and Bangalore.

Reliance is planning to increase the yield to 3,569 tonnes within a couple of years, Mr Thimmiah added.

The mango trees are watered through small pipes coming from the oil refinery, which is mainly waste water and desalinated sea water.

This is for the first time in the history of this former princely state of Saurashtra that this fruit is being grown.

Last year they reaped 427 tonnes of the fruit from 1.37 lakh trees which are pruned and trimmed so that they are easy to maintain.

''Under each plant a plastic sheet is kept, since 60 per cent of the water get evaporated in this arid climate,'' Mr Thimmiah said.

Gypsum and Sulphur is used to combat the high degree of salinity.

Both these chemicals are produced as by-products in the refinery.

''Most of the varieties, almost 90 per cent, are the Gujarati Kesar variety. The rest 10 per cent are exotic from as far off as Florida and Israel,'' Mr Thimmiah said.

The huge orchard is protected by a wall of Causurina trees that break the winds which pick up velocities of 70 to 80 Kms being whipped up by the sea.

Apart from mangoes rows of teak trees in this primarily dry region are greening the area considerably. Trees of Sapotas (Cheekoos), cherry, oranges, grape fruit and cashew are also grown.

Reliance Industries Limited ( RIL ) has floated a 100 per cent subsidiary Jamnagar Farms Private Limited, which is spearheading the Green Belt area situated within the 8000-acre refinery complex.

Executive director of RIL Hital Meswani said that since every refinery complex was required to have green cover, the Company has decided to do this in a big way.

UNI/RT VJ KP0932