‘Historic’ mangoes & exotic jackfruits to fill Lalbagh festival basket this weekend

Bengaluru: A three-day organic mango and jackfruit festival awaits Bengalureans at Lalbagh this week.

The Jaivik Krishik Society is organising the event at Dr MH Marigowda Hall from Friday, in collaboration with the Department of Horticulture. The festival will be inaugurated at 3 pm, and aims to introduce the public to organic versions of the two summer favourites.

The world’s most expensive and rare Miyazaki mango will be on display, alongside Appe Midi and historic Tipu Sultan-era mangoes. Seedless jackfruit and the red-flesh Chandra Halasu will be featured, with over 50 jackfruit varieties available for viewing and purchase. Visitors can also sample jackfruit-based products such as ice cream, chips, chocolates, halwa, kebabs, dosa, and biryani.

More than 40 rural entrepreneurs, women’s collectives, and farmer producer organisations (FPOs) from across the state will offer value-added mango and jackfruit products, millets, organic items, handicrafts, and indigenous seeds for pre-monsoon sowing.

The Horticultural Research Centre at Hirehalli, Tumakuru, will showcase several red jackfruit varieties, while Sahaja Samruddha, an organic farmers' collective, will display over 75 varieties of mangoes and jackfruit.

A new initiative, Jaivik Basket, featuring organic fruits, vegetables, and millets will also be launched at the inauguration.

Teja Nursery (Devanahalli) and Belavala Farm (Mysuru), both known for their organic practices, will offer rare and high-quality saplings of jackfruit, mango, and other fruit-bearing plants.

The festival will include a farmer training session on organic mango and jackfruit cultivation at 11 am on Saturday, led by Dr Ramakrishnappa, Dr Hittalmani, and agricultural scholar Shivanapura Ramesh. A drawing competition for children will be held at the same time. At 3 pm, a jackfruit peeling and guess-the-weight competition will also take place.

Block the dates 

The festival will be inaugurated on Friday at 3 pm by Dr Shamla Iqbal, IAS, Secretary of Horticulture and Sericulture.

On Saturday and Sunday, it will be open to the public from 7 am to 6 pm.