The Community Agro-biodiversity Centre (CABC) of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here has drawn up a project to conserve traditional mango varieties.
“Steps will be taken to identify, collect, conserve, and enhance availability of the different traditional mango varieties. There were more than 200 traditional mango varieties in Malabar alone till a few decades ago but, many varieties are facing genetic erosion owing to various reasons,” says N. Anilkumar, senior director, MSSRF.
A seminar and an exhibition on mangoes held at the foundation recently chalked out an action plan for the purpose.
The mango varieties on the verge of extinction would be mass multiplied with the support of farmers, youth clubs, and Kudumbasree units through modern methods.
“Centralised and decentralised nurseries and demonstration plots would be a core component of the conservation initiative. Traditional knowledge on mangoes would be documented and enlivened to reinforce research activities. Scientific validation of traditional knowledge would also gain significance in the conservation initiatives,” Dr. Anilkumar said.
Farmer groups would be formed and participatory research and conservation efforts would be adopted. Moreover, scientific intervention for value addition of suitable varieties is also on the anvil to ensure sustainable income for farmers.
“A survey from Mangaluru to Palakkad will be held soon as the region is rich in traditional mango varieties due to its unique climatic and soil conditions,” V. Balakrishnan, head of the centre pointed out.
“A team from the MSSRF will collect mango seeds from the region in the first phase and document its qualities and develop a gene pool at select sites. As the same variety is known in different names in different regions, a molecular study will be carried out to ensure that the seeds collected are not of the same variety,” Dr. Balakrishnan said.
Since, mango is a climate resilient crop, the organisation is planning to reintroduce more than 1,000 grafted seedlings of 100 traditional mango varieties this year as a part of setting up a community gene bank, he added.
