MP: Officials focus on conservation as number of ‘Noorjahan’ mango trees shrinks

The authorities in Madhya Pradesh plan to renew efforts to multiply the number of rare Noorjahan mango trees, which has shrunk to 10, in the Katthiwada area of Alirajpur district in the state, officials said.Thought to be of Afghan origin, the Noorjahan mango variety is known for its big size, weighing between 3.5 kg and 4.5 kg.

The authorities in Madhya Pradesh plan to renew efforts to multiply the number of rare 'Noorjahan' mango trees, which has shrunk to 10, in the Katthiwada area of Alirajpur district in the state, officials said.

Thought to be of Afghan origin, the Noorjahan mango variety is known for its big size, weighing between 3.5 kg and 4.5 kg. "Scientific efforts should be intensified for the conservation of Noorjahan in Alirajpur district's Katthiwada area," said Indore Division Commissioner (Revenue) Deepak Singh during a meeting of the Horticulture Department here.

Expressing concern over the dwindling number of the mango trees, mostly confined to the Alirajpur district, he instructed the forest department to prepare new saplings of Noorjahan with the help of tissue culture.

"Merely 10 fruit-bearing trees of Noorjahan mangoes are left. We have not given up. We are trying to multiply their number to 200 in the next five years by plantation. We will not let this species become extinct," said Dr R K Yadav, head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Alirajpur.

He added that a few decades ago, the maximum weight of a Noorjahan mango used to be up to 4.5 kilograms, which has now reduced to between 3.5 and 3.8 kg.

Mango grower Shivraj Singh Jadhav, who owns three Noorjahan trees, said the yield is low this time. "My three trees brought forth just 20 mangoes. Unseasonal rains and storms came as a cropper to the yield," said Jadhav. He said his garden produced the heaviest "Noorjahan of 3.8 kg that fetched him Rs 2,000" last year.

The Noorjahan variety tree blooms in January and mangoes are up for sale in June when they turn ripe, Jadhav added.

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