Jackfruit mela in Tumkur district

MUSCELLANY

The event is being organised in collaboration with the Department of Horticulture and the Zilla Panchayat, Tumkur at the Sri Vinayak Composite Junior College premises, Kadaba road, Nittur.
The programme starts at 10am and concludes at  6 pm.

The objective of the mela is to get an understanding of the wide varieties of jackfruit, its documentation followed by germplasm collection and propagation. “This time, grafting of the selected trees is going to be done immediately. This will ensure that good varieties of seedlings are made available to farmers during the rainy season,” explains G N S Reddy, Vice President of BAIF.   
As many as 150 to 200 varieties of jackfruits are expected to be displayed during the mela. They include local varieties such as hebbalasu, rudrakshi halasu, lakocha and chandra halasu. Also, sale of various delicacies made out of jackfruit will be organised as part of the event. As many as 800 to 1000 people from nearby villages and towns are expected to take part in the programme.    
The area including Nittur, Gubbi, Kibbanahalli cross and Chelur happens to be the biggest jackfruit belt in the southern part of Karnataka.

Chelur, a hobli in Gubbi taluk of Tumkur district is the biggest jackfruit market in the state. Truckloads of jackfruit are transported from here to other states.  “Because the jackfruit tree is a cross-pollinated one, the varieties increase in number. The best variety may be available in and around Nittur,” explains Paramashivaiah, a jackfruit expert of Bommarasanahalli  village, Gubbi taluk.

Activities at the mela

The activities organised as part of the mela are:

*Display and sale of jackfruits, local seedlings and grafted seedlings
*Display and sale of jackfruit-based products like pappad, chips and other processed items made from jackfruit seeds
*Display and sale of books related to agriculture, horticulture and jackfruit
Display and sale of organically grown food products
*Interaction with jackfruit growers and scientists
*Discussions on issues pertaining to cultivation, conservation and propagation of jackfruit on aspects such as historical perspectives, jackfruit as an alternative to ensure food security, existing jackfruit market etc.   
*Awarding the best fruits selected during the mela: A committee of experts has been formed to select the best fruits and give away prizes.
The committee includes farmers, representatives from UAS, Bangalore and IIHR, Bangalore.
The criteria for selection of the fruit are physical appearance, cross section, quantity of gum, size and seed quality, colour and flavour etc    

For details, contact BAIF- Institute for Rural Development, Tiptur, Tumkur district. Ph: 08134-250658, 250659, 9945442761 Email: [e-mail] and B M Paramashivaiah, ph: 9448763048, 9242649852