Bhopal: Noorjahan mango tree species, the yield of which weighs up to 4.5 kg each, is on the verge of extinction, a scientist of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) has indicated.
Dr R K Yadav, scientist and head of the local KVK, on Friday, disclosed to this newspaper that only ten Noorjahan mango trees survive in Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh now.
“Only ten Noorjahan mango trees are surviving in the Katthiwada block of Alirajpur district now. The KVK of Alirajpur has undertaken a project to conserve and revive the tree species”, Dr Yadav said.
According to him, of the ten surviving Noorjahan mango variety trees, seven are found in the farms of two brothers of Katthiwada, Shivraj Singh and Bharat Singh.
Similarly, while one tree is found in the village of Kali Khetra under Jobat, grown by the local farmer Pradip Singh in his agriculture field, another tree is grown by a farmer, Yuvraj Singh, in Chhota Undan village near the district headquarters of Alirajpur.
The other tree is grown in the palace of the erstwhile royal family of Alirajpur.
According to him, the KVK, Alirajpur, last year initiated an effort to create two mother trees of the variety by adopting the grafting method. But, both the trees were electrocuted after coming in contact with transmission wires.
The tree variety yields mangoes weighing up to 4.5 kg each.
“Last year, a Noorjahan mango weighing 3.5 kg was auctioned at Rs 5,000 in the market”, Dr Yadav said.
The mango variety grows in tropical climates on sandy soil.
“We have a plan to grow around 200 mango trees of the variety in the coming four years by adopting tissue culture technology”, he added.
