Navi Mumbai, Oct. 31 -- That mango lovers are waiting eagerly for their favourite fruit even though the usual season is nearly four months away was apparent on Friday when the first batch of Devgad Alphonso mangoes arrived at the Vashi Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market and got sold out within hours. Sanjay Munde, a retailer from Crawford Market, bought the entire six-dozen lot for a whopping Rs.26,000, more than ten times the usual price, hoping to sell the fruits for even higher prices, leaving the farmer, Milesh Bankar, elated. Bankar had taken special care to induce flowering in his mango orchard in Devgad taluka under Sindhudurg district in June-July and spent weeks protecting the flowers as they matured into plump fruits. "We put a protective cover around the blossoms and nurtured them despite the unfavourable weather. We repeatedly applied fungicide to protect the fruit from rain, although spraying requires a great deal of effort," he told Hindustan Times. On Thursday, which marked Sankashti - an auspicious day as per the Hindu calendar, he dispatched the first consignment for Mumbai, which reached wholesaler Janardhan and Company at the Vashi APMC market on Friday. Abhijit Bhujbal from Janardhan and Company said Friday's arrival was particularly unusual because the customary ceremonial inauguration of the mango season takes place around Diwali. "This is the earliest arrival over the years, thanks to the farmer's hard work," said Bhujbal. The first batch of mangoes usually arrive at the market by November, he noted. In fact, two years ago, Bankar had sent the first crate of mangoes to Vashi in November; this year's arrival advanced the timeline by nearly a month and helped him fetch a higher price. For context, in early April this year, boxes comprising six dozen premium Alphonso mangoes fetched Rs.2,000-6,000 at the Vashi APMC market, depending on size and quality. By mid-April, when 50,000 boxes arrived at the market every day, prices were down to Rs.1,500-5,000. All mangoes in Friday's consignment were from Bankar's own orchard in Girye-Rameshwar village under Devgad taluka. He has around 1,000-1,100 mango trees in the orchard and also manages other orchards on contract. His brother Vidyadhar is also involved in the family mango business. Bankar hopes to send 5-7 more crates from his orchard to Janardhan and Company within the next few days, followed by 5-10 crates around Diwali. These consignments too are likely to fetch premium prices, as the commercial season begins only in January and gathers momentum in February. Despite the cheer over the early arrival and premium price, both cultivators and traders are concerned about inclement weather making the coming season rather difficult. "The heat has triggered excessive growth of new leaves, while absence of rain has also created problems," said Bankar. Bhujbal said that the Konkan, though known for abundant rainfall, was facing drought-like conditions this year, with virtually no rain since September. Water availability would be crucial from December through March, when growers need to sustain the developing fruit on trees. "In another 15-20 days, it should be clear how much of the crop will survive. But we expect mango prices to remain high this year," he said....