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Karnataka Veterinarian Builds Gene Bank for Rare Mangoes
Karnataka has many special mangoes that grow only in particular villages and regions.
Some of these mango trees are disappearing because farms are changing and people often prefer common commercial mangoes.
Dr P Manohara Upadhya created a place called Maavu Mantapa to protect them.
He planted 600 mango trees on a 5.4-acre plot using his own savings.
Each tree represents a named local variety with its own taste or use.
Farmers and nurseries are growing more trees from old varieties so they do not disappear.
Scientists are also studying the mangoes and saving their genetic material.
These mangoes may help create crops that can better resist disease and changing weather.
Protecting them also preserves local food traditions and memories.
Veterinarian Dr P Manohara Upadhya used his life savings to create Maavu Mantapa, a mango gene bank in Kukkila.
The 5.4-acre site had 600 trees by May 2026, including 430 indigenous and 170 hybrid or exotic varieties.
Farmers, nurseries, researchers and institutions are preserving rare mangoes threatened by land-use changes, climate stress and commercial preferences.
More than 200 local Appemidi genotypes have been collected and conserved by ICAR-IIHR, which is also studying their traits and preserving pollen.
Conservationists are propagating varieties such as Appemidi, Apple Raja and Kadugaayi so they can survive beyond their original orchards.
- Who
- Dr P Manohara Upadhya, along with farmers, nurseries, researchers and conservation groups.
- What
- A broad effort to conserve Karnataka’s rare and indigenous mango varieties through orchards, nurseries, field gene banks and research.
- Where
- Across Karnataka, including Kukkila in Dakshina Kannada, the Malnad and coastal regions, the Western Ghats, and research and conservation sites elsewhere in the state.
- When
- By May 2026, Maavu Mantapa had 600 trees; related conservation efforts described in the article include activities in 2025 and earlier years.
- Why
- Native mangoes are declining because of habitat and land-use changes, reduced cultivation, commercial-market preferences, climate stress and disease.
Key facts
- Maavu Mantapa location
- Kukkila, within Vitlapadnur village in Bantwal taluk, Dakshina Kannada
- Gene bank size
- 5.4 acres
- Trees by May 2026
- 600 total: 430 indigenous and 170 Indian hybrid or exotic varieties
- Appemidi genotypes conserved
- More than 200 local genotypes have been collected and conserved at ICAR-IIHR’s field gene bank
- Ananthmurthy Jawali’s collection
- More than 400 Appemidi mother plants at a nursery in Ripponpet
- Propagation effort
- Ananthmurthy Jawali estimates that he has sold more than 50,000 wild mango saplings
- Pilikula planting project
- A 2025 project planned 4,000 native saplings, including 180 wild mango varieties
Quotes
Kannangi Seshadri
Farmer from Kannangi village in Shivamogga
“These wild mangoes weave together Karnataka’s cultural tapestry — where land, lineage, and tradition meet in orchards that embody identity as much as they yield fruit. They are more than mangoes; they are living legacies, each bite carrying the flavour of its soil and the memory of its people.”
thebetterindia.com
“Naada mavu thrive in the Malnad region, unlike Raspuri or Alphonso. They bear fruit at the onset of the monsoon in June, just as the rains arrive.”
thebetterindia.com
Sources
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