Even though the popular kesaria remains the ruling choice where it comes to Gujaratis and mangoes, this new breed is poised to redefine preferences. Aptly titled anand rasraj, the mango has been developed by Anand Agricultural University. Not only does it promise to be the “joy of juice,” as its name translates, the tree is supposed to yield greater.
The experiment to arrive upon the fruit started way back in 2000 at the Paria grounds, where agricultural experiments are known to take shape. To initiate the process, samplings from sonpari were taken. “Thereon, year after year, we studied and grated other breeds into the plant. The research was carried forward to the Jabugam station. It took 22 years but anand rasraj is truly sweet. Plus, the fruit matures timely within 110 days, it contains less crude fibre as compared to the varieties and most importantly, each tree can yield 57.4 kg per season,” shared AAU vice chancellor A.B. Kathiria. The cohort of researchers also included Dr M.K. Jhala, Dr H.C. Parmar, Dr Vinod Mor and Dr M.J. Patel.
Listing further merits of the new offing, Dr Patel stated that damage due to fruit flies or pests is minimum to this new breed. “The average fruit weighs 268.2 gms and the mature fruit is endowed with good shelf life. In fact, anand rasraj will give the kesaria a run for its money,” he stated.
Another vantage point of the mango is its fruit-bearing capacity. “This is where the dasshera and langra mangoes lose out. The new variety can fruit again and again and it takes roughly three months for the fruit to ripen. In case of langra mangoes, seasonal variations are known to heavily affect the yield capacity,” he added.
The new variety has been approved by all varsity research committees as well as by the state sub-committee of Gujarat.
Also Read: Rajasthan: CM Gehlot Approves Rs 148 Cr For IT Development Centre
