A lifeline for indigenous mango varieties

While most Malayalis are conversant in Alphonso, a premium GI-tagged mango selection from Maharashtra, they could not have tasted Kalkanda vellari, Kolambi, or Muthalamookkan.

Though Kerala boasts of a variety of indigenous mango varieties, lots of them are on the verge of extinction. Now, the Farming Systems Research Station, Sadanandapuram, underneath Kerala Agricultural University, has launched a three-year programme to protect the endangered breeds.

“Kerala has the highest number of native varieties known as nattu mavu. Mango trees are felled for making funeral pyre and very often rare breeds get axed. There are numerous nameless varieties in rural Kerala and we will be first focussing on the four southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, and Kottayam,” says B.Bindu, assistant professor, who heads the challenge.

The challenge, funded by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, will map all indigenous bushes in backyards, farms, orchards, and public locations as step one in preserving their variety. Later, as per the scientific process, their flowering and fruiting will probably be documented to be able to catalogue them.

“Mango trees are one species largely affected by climate change. So, we will need to find good varieties that are also resistant to climate change and then all such scattered breeds will be brought together at the research station. After conducting etymological studies, they will be made available to farmers and the public,” she says.

In the following part, based mostly on an ordinary process that makes use of totally different variables comparable to thickness of pores and skin, flesh content material, and sweetness, the bushes will probably be catalogued.

“There are native varieties that are sweeter than honey while some others are suitable for pickles. Pulpy versions are used for making juice and mango preserve,” she says. After choosing the correct bushes, they are going to be grafted to domesticate the prototype and mom plant for conservation. “You can’t always grow the same variety using the seed.”

Prof. Bindu provides that Kollam and Alappuzha have extra varieties and there are bushes with native names and even names of people. “Identifying and documenting them will require a lot of time and effort.”

The analysis group may also be trying on the wild varieties in forest areas. “The towering mango trees seen in the wild can be grafted and grown in farms with appropriate pruning. The project aims to offer all high-yielding, rare and climate-resistant native varieties to farmers,” she says.

Public may help

Farmers and people who need to preserve any specific indigenous selection can contact the station at 8137840196.