Tamil farmer revives almost-extinct native mango species

25 Jun 2019

Tamil farmer revives almost-extinct native mango species

Tamil farmer revives almost-extinct native mango speciesK S Jegannatha Raja, a farmer from Tamil Nadu is on a big mission - to revive almost-extinct native (belonging to a place) mango species.

In the late 90s, the Horticulture College and Research Institute (HCRI) in Tamil Nadu declared Puliyadi, a native mango as extinct.
 	Raja went looking for any surviving Puliyadi mango trees and found one.
 	 In 2003, he grafted the branch from the last surviving Puliyadi mango tree and grew a new mother plant. He submitted it to the HCRI.
 	Inspired by this result, Raja went on to save other endangered species like Pottalma, Panchavarnam and Banganapalli.

He freely distributes rare mango saplings (young trees) to local farmers as a method of conservation.

According to Raja, native mango species have high nutrient content, are good quality and economically manageable.
 	He suggests that farmers should focus on increasing production and effective marketing.

Raja's love for mangoes began during his childhood days.

He says he has had the privilege of tasting many mangoes that are no longer available.

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons

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K S Jegannatha Raja, a farmer from Tamil Nadu is on a big mission – to revive almost-extinct native (belonging to a place) mango species. […]

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