A cradle of the king of fruits

On the way from Belagavi to Sirsi, once you cross Haliyal, you will find a stretch of several kilometres dotted with thousands of mango saplings. The villages of Havagi, Tergaon and Antrolli near Haliyal in Uttara Kannada district produce grafted mango saplings that are much in demand across India.

. Dharnendra Jain, who spent 35 years working at Shravanabelagola as an administrator, returned to Havagi 10 years ago to turn to farming. He tells us that these saplings, which are visible from the highway, could be anywhere between one and two years old. They are three to five feet in height. At several places, we see women seated on the roadside dehusking the mango seeds and drying them under hot sun.

. Starts with seeds

. The de-pulped mangoes are purchased through agents from factories in Maharashtra. These are mainly of the Alphonso, Kesar, Sindhur, Dashehri, Totapuri, Mallika and Neelam varieties. The husked seeds sell at anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per tonne. The seed is then brought to the farm and the husk is removed. The seeds are dried and two seeds are sown in small plastic bags filled with prepared soil.

. The seedlings grown from this are grafted with the scions of the Alphonso variety grown locally. Each village has mother plants required for grafting. No chemical fertiliser is used in the propagation of the seedlings at any stage.

. These saplings can start bearing fruit within a year in some cases, but fruiting is encouraged after three years for good quality yield.

. Dharnendra Jain says, “Grafting has become an income-generation activity in these villages for over three decades now. Otherwise we had to depend on traditional agriculture which is not feasible anymore.”

. Shridhar Kakkeri, a software engineer, now helps his family in the production of grafted mango plants at their Padmamba nursery in Tergaon. His family has been in this business for the past three decades. His parents Bhupal and Shanta Kakkeri and brother Kallappa Kakkeri are also engaged in the same field.

. Shridhar adds, “This activity has given work to women from May to December. However, there is not much support from the government in terms of assured purchase of saplings.”

. Marketing is key

. The major markets for these mango saplings are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and some parts of South Karnataka. The village sells around 20 lakh saplings per year, most of which is sold to nurseries. Some farmers, like the ones from Ratnagiri, purchase the saplings of the Alphonso variety directly from here.

. A sapling of one year that has grown to a height of over three feet can fetch anywhere between Rs 60 to Rs 200. The cost of production and nurturing is Rs 40 per year. This leaves a small margin for the growers.

. Why Tergaon?

. Weather plays a major role in the propagation of saplings of several mango varieties. The weather at Tergaon is conducive to the growth of mango saplings. The saplings grown here can withstand more heat compared to varieties grown in other places.

. While a majority of farmers are into mango grafting, some farmers in these villages grow sugarcane and other crops in their fields. Other farmers also propagate cashew and coconut plants which are always in demand.

. A field of three acres can facilitate the production of over five lakh mango saplings a year.

. Truckloads of saplings are regularly transported to different parts of the country. Unsold saplings from a season are left in the field but need to be tended to. Some customers purchase large plants five feet in size.

. Farmers say that government support in the form of inputs and marketing support could help spread the fame of this cradle of the king of fruits far and wide.

A cradle of the king of fruits

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