Kerala Police academy on a native mango preservation drive

Thiruvananthapuram: Along with churning out well-trained police personnel, the Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur is on a another mission – setting up a farm of native varieties of mango trees.

Around 150 varieties of mango trees from across the state are being planted on the academy premises. The project, which was formally launched on Tuesday, is an initiative of 'Nattumanchottil', a Kannur-based forum of mango lovers involved in preserving native mango trees.

Shyju Machathi, founder and coordinator of the forum, said that around 150-odd native mango trees, including many unnamed ones, would be grown in the native mango farm at the police academy. It will be a first-of-its-type initiative where all native varieties could be spotted in one location, said Machathi, who is also a police official.

Kerala Police Academy Director K Sethuraman launched the initiative by planting ten saplings. The trees will be grown around the big parade ground of the academy. As many as 150 rootstocks were planted, and in the next two months, different varieties of mango trees from various parts of Kerala will be grafted onto them.

From 'Kotoorkonam' of Thiruvananthapuram in the south to 'Kurukkan' commonly seen in Kasargod in the north will be planted in the academy farm. The ICAR–National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources regional centre in Thrissur will be providing the technical support.

The Nattumanchottil forum is also in the process of bringing out a reference guide on the various native varieties of mangoes in the state.