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Kesar mango

Kesar is a saffron-fleshed Indian mango cultivar developed in the Junagadh region of Gujarat, with the first grafts traced to around 1931 near the Girnar foothills. It is the principal export-quality mango of Gujarat and is known commercially as Gir Kesar after its GI registration in 2011.

Key characteristics

  • Origin: Junagadh (Girnar foothills), Gujarat, around 1931
  • GI registration: 2011 (Gir Kesar), based on Junagadh Agricultural University's 2010 application
  • Fruit: medium oblong with thin skin and saffron-orange pulp
  • TSS: 18-22 deg Brix
  • Acidity: 0.25-0.27%
  • Area under cultivation: around 20,000 ha in Junagadh and Amreli districts

Cultivation

Kesar is propagated by softwood and veneer grafting on local mango seedling rootstock. Conventional plantings use 8-10 m spacing; high-density and ultra-high-density variants (Mango Orchard Establishment Hdp) at 15 x 15 ft and closer are increasingly common in commercial orchards. Standard canopy training and pruning (Mango Canopy Training Pruning) and flowering management with KNO3 and paclobutrazol (Mango Flowering Management) underpin commercial production.

Pest and disease profile

Major problems include mango hopper, mealybug, fruit fly (Fruit Fly Orchard Pest), powdery mildew and anthracnose, all managed through standard IPM practices.

Adoption and use

Junagadh and Amreli districts dominate Kesar production; the cultivar is also being trialled in Telangana, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Fruits are consumed fresh, processed into pulp, slices and aam papad (Mango Value Addition Rolls Thandra), and exported through APEDA-certified packhouses, particularly to West Asia, Europe and North America. Among premium Indian mangoes, Kesar competes most directly with Alphonso (Mango Alphonso) on flavour and shelf life, while serving different regional markets.

See also: Mango Alphonso, Mango Banganapalli Beneshan, Mango Himayat Himam Pasand, Mango Dasheri, Mango Totapuri, Fruit Fly Orchard Pest.

References

  1. Gir Kesar. Wikipedia.
  2. APEDA Certified Mango Exporters (Kesar). Alphonso Mango.