Kerala hosts mango, banana festival

Kochi, May 1 (ANI): Over 150 varieties of mangoes and bananas have been put on display during a mango show and banana festival being held here.

Organised by the Ernakulam District Agri-Horticultural Society in Kochi, the two-day festival, which will last till Sunday.

Mangoes of different shapes, sizes, and colours are on displayed, while many species of bananas, including red and Poovan bananas have been showcased at the festival.

Most of the fruits on display are carbide-free and brought from various parts of the country like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Emphasis has been laid on getting fruit that is carbide-free.

"Especially in Kochi, we have got only a few varieties of mangoes as well as bananas, and that also we are getting mango fruit that is carbide-free but this time we are planning to procure mango fruit directly from the farm," said D Radhakrishnan Nair, Secretary of the Ernakulam District Agri-Horticultural Society.

He added that there is a particular type of mango in the display, which weighs two kilograms each.

The festival is proving to be a good way for visitors to find out more about the fruits.

The festival is a major draw among local people, many of who are curiously learning about the specialty of mangoes on display.

"It (the festival) should be conducted regularly, more often in vacations...most probably in Christmas vacations and so on, so that we can see many things and can understand so many varieties," said Glen Antony, a visitor.

Different types of mangoes like Mango Taj Mahal, Maka, Omlet are some of the varieties displayed in the on-going festival in Kochi. By John Samuel (ANI)