A farmer from Maharashtra’s Solapur, Dattatreya Gadge has named the mangoes in his orchard after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. The ‘Sharad mangoes’ in Gadge’s orchard weigh around 2.5 kg and are very popular in the mango festival organized in Solapur.
When asked why he named his mangoes after Sharad Pawar, Gadge explained that the NCP chief had started the Phalbag Scheme during his regime as the chief minister of Maharashtra. Under the scheme, Gadge had planted around 7000 Kesar mango plants on 8 acres of land. To honour his efforts, he named the bulky 2.5 kg mangoes after Sharad Pawar, Gadge added.
‘Sharad mangoes’ of Gadge’s orchard are the centre of attention in the famous mango festival of Solapur. Gadge explained to the festivalgoers how he was able to successfully produce the bulky mangoes with the use of different Homeopathic medicines on the trees based on extensive research by Rajendra Pawar of Baramati Agriculture Science Centre and Baramati Agriculture Development Trust.
Gadge added that the Agriculture Scientists from Baramati Agriculture College who came to participate in the festival named it ‘Sharad Mango’.