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  • From: Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] The three-hundred variety mango of Malihabad
  • Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 00:10:21 -0400

Not a temperate fruit that most of us can grow, but I thought interest as the article tells of NAFEX-type activities very far away.

One hopes that mangoes don't have serious viruses.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

*****

Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog <http://agro.biodiver.se> wrote:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Three-hundred-variety mango of Malihabad
<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AgriculturalBiodiversityWeblog/~3/yGep2qAYiXw/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>


Posted: 08 May 2010 01:55 AM PDT

/Another reflection on a remarkable Indian mango tree from our friend
Bhuwon Sthapit of Bioversity International./

It is hard to believe that a farmer can have as a hobby the grafting of
multiple varietal scions of interesting and unique mango diversity on to
a single tree. I certainly did not believe it. Until I saw the orchard
of Haji Kaleem Ullaj Khan in Malihabad. There he maintains several trees
with many varieties grafted onto them as sources of scions for his mango
nurseries <http://abdullahnursery.com/>. A good and reliable source of
scions is essential to run a successful and credible mango nursery, but
to have a conventional scion block is expensive in terms of maintenance
and land.

The son of the magician grafter, Najmi, showed me two very remarkable
mango trees. One is said to be 100 years old and is named Al-Muqarrar.
It has had more than 300 varieties of mango skilfully grafted onto it by
Najmi’s father father. The other, younger tree has more than 150 mango
genotypes grafted on to it. Each branch looks like a different tree!
Both trees are bearing fruits of different colour, shape and size, and
at different times.

Born in 1945, Haji Kaleem Ullaj Khan does not have any academic
horticultural degrees, but he is widely renowned in India for his skills
and knowledge in multiple grafting on a single tree. He was awarded the
title of Udhyan Pandit (Professor of the Orchard) by a former President
of India. He has also presented a mango tree bearing 54 varieties to the
current President for the premises of the Mughal Garden of Rastrapati
havan. He has been acknowledged by many high-profile visitors from
abroad and also decorated with the Padamashri award. His name is
recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for his grafting feats.

Abdullah Nursery is famous in Malihabad and throughout India for Haji
Kaleem Ullaj Khan’s innovations, and markets saplings of commercial
varieties to such distant places of Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Unlike
government research stations, Haji Kaleem Ullaj Khan uses ground
layering for his propagation for most commercial saplings, and veneer or
wedge grafting in special cases. He has also grafted a guava tree that
flowers and fruits all year round, which is another attraction for the
nursery.

This innovation borne out of local need is a promising way for nurseries
to maintain many scions at relatively low cost. However, this can be a
high risk practice, because many varieties depend on one mother tree’s
survival. It is thus important to have adequate safety duplication or
maintain some scion material trees separately. Multiple variety grafting
can also be used as an attraction in agrotourism, and for innovative
marketing of diversity in urban and home gardens. This will create a new
market for nursery growers and raise public interest in the diversity of
mangoes. This activity has been conceptualized in the context of the
UNEP/GEF project Conservation and Sustainable Use of Tropical Fruit Tree
Diversity in India.

<http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/AgriculturalBiodiversityWeblog?a=yGep2qAYiXw:59tLXSeFWdg:yIl2AUoC8zA>





  • [NAFEX] The three-hundred variety mango of Malihabad, Douglas Woodard, 05/10/2010

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