At the edges of forests, along village boundaries, and in old backyard orchards across Karnataka, wild mango trees cling to a shrinking place in the landscape. Unlike the polished, uniform fruits that fill city stalls, these mangoes are smaller, sharper, more aromatic — fruits that carry the weight of local memory.
On a 5.4-acre plot in Kukkila, nestled within Vitlapadnur village of Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada, rows of young mango trees rise like verses in a living manuscript.
Each sapling bears a name — often remembered only by the older generation of farmers — and carries with it the story of a coastal landscape once rich with hundreds of naada mavu, local mango varieties now fading into obscurity.
At the heart of this green archive stands Dr P Manohara Upadhya — a veterinary surgeon by profession, and a gentle conservationist by passion.
Welcome to the world of wild mangoes of Karnataka.
The Mangoes that almost disappeared
In Karnataka’s lush Malnad and coastal regions, mango trees are more than just fruit-bearing trees. Many varieties are closely tied to the villages and families where they originated, carrying with them stories, traditions and the unique flavours of their home regions.
But that sense of familiarity is under strain.
Old trees are being felled, farms are shifting, and traditional food habits are fading. In many places, native mangoes vanish simply because they are deemed inconvenient or less profitable than standardised commercial crops.
On a 5.4-acre plot in Kukkila, nestled within Vitlapadnur village of Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada, rows of young mango trees rise like verses in a living manuscript.
Farmers are generally reluctant to cultivate wild varieties, since the market favours fruits that sell by standardised names rather than for their uniqueness.
Climate stress compounds the decline — irregular rains, sudden heat, and disease weaken flowering and fruit set, leaving harvests uncertain year after year.
The loss is more than agricultural; it is cultural. Each fallen tree erases a local name, a flavour, a seasonal memory. For families who have relied on the same tree for generations, this is not just decline — it is a quiet erosion of identity.
Yet across Karnataka, farmers, conservationists, nurseries and researchers are working to ensure these mangoes do not disappear.
A living archive in Kukkila
On Upadhya’s 5.4-acre plot in Kukkila, that effort has taken root in the form of Maavu Mantapa — a mango gene bank raised using his life’s savings.
Its name in Kannada evokes both “mango” (maavu) and a sheltering pavilion (mantapa). The idea is simple but powerful: collect and grow varieties before they are lost, give each one a place, and preserve the living tree rather than merely its memory.
By May 2026, Maavu Mantapa had already grown into a living archive with 600 trees, of which 430 were indigenous and 170 were Indian hybrid and exotic mango varieties.
Each sapling bears a name and, often, a story of where it came from.
As Dr Upadhya explains, the work is far from finished. Once the trees begin yielding, each will be carefully documented in an ongoing study. That process has already begun, with five plants bearing fruit this year and another hundred expected next seasons.
On Upadhya’s 5.4-acre plot in Kukkila, that effort has taken root in the form of Maavu Mantapa — a mango gene bank raised using his life’s savings.
Supporting him is NaaMaaMi — Naada Maavu Mitraru, or “friends of local mangoes” — a dedicated team that helps identify and track species across the region.
What stands in Kukkila is therefore more than an orchard. It is an attempt to keep Karnataka’s disappearing mango vocabulary alive — one tree, one name and one variety at a time.
Each mango carries a story
Across Karnataka, the names of these mangoes are rooted in the places where they grew.
There is Otte Maavu from Kukkalli and Kuri Tale from Anavatti, both grown in Hosanagar. Belur in Sagara taluk is known for Apple Raja, a mango prized for its crisp bite.
Ripponpet has its own favourites, including Kubera and Swastik, while Hosanagara is home to Apoorva.
Further towards the coast, Puttur is known for Puttur Master, also called Bolwar Kasi. Near Kundapur, the Narayana Kini mango from Kota adds another distinctive flavour to Karnataka’s rich collection of traditional varieties.
Uttara Kannada has its own collection of distinctive mango varieties. Maani Bhatta comes from Kumta, while Gidugana Mane and Varate Guduga are found around Sirsi. Karwar’s Kodibag is known for Kari Ishaad, while Sullia has its own local variety called Nekkare.
Some mangoes are valued for their ability to bear fruit throughout the year. Sagara’s Kattinakere and Mangaluru’s Derebail are both all-season varieties that can keep households supplied with mangoes year-round. Yadehalli and Gilalagundi, grown near Anandapuram, are also known for their all-season harvests.
Beyond their names and flavours, these mango varieties embody practical traits prized by growers.
Kadugaayi is pickled raw when the fruit weighs around 1.5 kg, helping preserve it for longer. Kuchgaayi is preserved whole in brine, extending its shelf life beyond mango season.
Bolwar Kasi is known for its disease resistance and fast growth, while Baaymane Kasi produces exceptionally large ripe mangoes, weighing between 700 grams and 1 kg. Sundar is remembered for its heavy yield and importance to local households.
Across Karnataka, the names of these mangoes are rooted in the places where they grew.
Veteran journalist Shree Padre, who is the editor of Adike Patrike, a Kannada monthly farm magazine dedicated to farmers and rural communities, shares:
“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.”
The orchard is only the beginning
The preservation of these varieties is not confined to Kukkila.
Across Sirsi, Karwar, Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada, Belur, Gadag and other parts of Karnataka, custodian farmers continue to grow and care for lesser-known mango varieties.
In his fifties, Rajendra Hindumane is a celebrated farmer from Hosahalli village near Jog Falls in Shivamogga district, Karnataka.
Renowned for his integrated farming system and for cultivating more than 1,200 varieties of exotic fruits, spices, and medicinal plants, he also proudly nurtures 40 Appemidi mango trees on his two-acre farm.
These trees, rooted in the heritage of Malnad, are tended with care by Rajendra alongside his teenage daughters, making the orchard both a family endeavour and a living legacy.
Kannangi Seshadri (74), a farmer from Kannangi village in Shivamogga, cultivates 20 Appemidi mango trees on his 68-acre farm, alongside arecanut, jackfruit, black pepper, and nutmeg.
He explains: “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.”
Farmer Mapalathota Subraya Bhat of Markanja village, near Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district, has preserved 80 wild varieties on his land.
Eight years ago, Sameer Patil planted 500 Appemidi plants in Lakkalakatti village in Ron taluka of Gadag district, which receives scanty rainfall, unlike the coastal areas.
“Its ability to flourish in arid and semi-arid regions prompted me to plant this new crop, and I am getting good harvests,” he said.
Together, these farmers are doing something crucial: keeping varieties in cultivation rather than allowing them to survive only as memories of older orchards.
Saving a tree is not enough; Its important to grow more
For a rare mango variety to survive, protecting an old tree is only the beginning. It also needs to be propagated and planted elsewhere.
Ananthmurthy Javali was among the first to collect scion cuttings from forests and develop them into mother plants in his nursery.
Ananthmurthy Jawali in his nursery
Today, he maintains over 400 mother plants of Appemidi mango at Ripponpet village, making him a key figure in safeguarding this heritage fruit.
His work ensures that rare mango genotypes are not lost to deforestation or neglect, keeping Karnataka’s mango heritage alive.
“I have lost count of wild mango saplings I have sold over the years. It may be over 50,000,” he says.
The scale of that propagation offers these varieties a chance to move beyond the trees where they were first found.
“We grow these varieties more for their emotional value than for demand. There are very few takers, and growers rarely ask for them. But when dedicated mango enthusiasts visit our nursery, we suggest unique types like Apple Raja, Varate Guduga, or Kadugaayi, highlighting what makes each special,” says Amogh Javali, who co-runs the three-decade-old Ankur Farm and Nursery with his father, Ananthmurthy.
In 2025, Ananthmurthy was honoured with the Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition Award by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA).
The award recognised his conservation of Appemidi mango, jackfruit, and other rare fruit species — cementing his role as both an innovator and a custodian of biodiversity.
What researchers are trying to save
While farmers and nurseries are keeping these mangoes alive on the ground, researchers are working to understand and conserve the diversity within them.
Appemidi mangoes, in particular, are valued for their use in pickles, with fruits and leaves carrying distinct aromas. Sade midi is the plain variety, Jeerige midi has the aroma of cumin, and Karpoor midi has the aroma of camphor.
Comprehensive surveys have been conducted across Karnataka, and over 200 local Appemidi mango genotypes have been collected and conserved in the field gene bank of ICAR-IIHR. Characterisation of these varieties is currently underway at the Institute.
It has also developed cryopreservation techniques to store their pollen for future breeding, and supported efforts to secure a Geographical Indication (GI) tag to protect their identity.
By working closely with farmer groups in Shivamogga and Sirsi, it has helped graft and propagate rare types, ensuring both cultural preservation and livelihood support.
“While wild mango diversity exploration has not been specifically conducted in the coastal regions of Karnataka, Appemidi mango varieties native to the Western Ghats region have been conserved,” says Dr M Sankaran, Principal Scientist & Head, Division of Fruit Crops, ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru.
Researchers studying coastal Karnataka have confirmed just how variable these native mangoes are. A detailed assessment of wild genotypes in the region found major differences in fruit weight, stone weight, pulp percentage, peel percentage, and leaf traits, proving that this is a broad and valuable genetic pool.
“Wild mangoes of the Western Ghats are known for their distinctive flavours, tastes, and scents,” the study notes, underlining why scientists consider them important conservation material.
This diversity could also prove valuable for the future. Researchers see Appemidi germplasm as a potential resource for breeding disease-resistant and climate-resilient mangoes — connecting the conservation of traditional varieties with the challenges facing agriculture today.
From farms to gene banks and orchards
The conservation effort is also moving beyond individual farmers and nurseries.
In a village of Karnataka’s Mandya district lies the 15-acre Bada Bagh, a living archive of forgotten mangoes.
Its custodian, Syed Ghani, tends to varieties that are commercially unknown yet centuries old. Within its groves stand between 100 and 119 distinct types — many found nowhere else.
Ghani recalls how this orchard once supplied fruit to the palaces of the Mysore maharajas and even to Tipu Sultan himself. After years of painstaking effort, he succeeded in registering 116 of these trees as indigenously collected plant material, securing their place within India’s protected genetic heritage.
The Sirsi-based College of Forestry, too, has helped popularise wild mangoes by moving them from backyard and traditional use into formal conservation, research, and nursery propagation.
It has also worked with farmers, NGOs, and forest departments to keep these indigenous mango varieties in cultivation rather than letting them disappear.
The influence of such conservation efforts has extended into public spaces as well.
The preservation of these varieties is not confined to Kukkila.
In 2025, when Mangaluru’s Pilikula Golf Club set out to plant 4,000 native saplings — among them 180 varieties of wild mango — after clearing the acacias, they turned to the Kodagu-based Chirgura Nursery.
These saplings, carrying the genetic legacy of landscapes from Kasaragod to Uttara Kannada, many of them endangered, are now poised to take root in a new public space.
From individual farms to nurseries, research institutions and public landscapes, the effort is creating more places where Karnataka’s rare mangoes can survive.
More than a mango
For generations, these trees have existed quietly at the edges of farms, in backyards and along forest landscapes. Their value was not always measured by how much money a fruit could fetch in a market.
It lived in the first mangoes of the monsoon, in pickle jars that lasted beyond summer, in local names passed from one generation to another, and in the knowledge of farmers who knew which tree flowered when, which fruit stored well, and which variety could withstand a particular landscape.
Today, that knowledge is finding new life in conservation orchards, nurseries, farms and gene banks.
The work is not about replacing commercial mangoes. It is about ensuring that Karnataka does not lose the extraordinary diversity that existed alongside them.
And with farmers planting new saplings, nurseries propagating rare varieties, researchers conserving their genetic material and institutions creating new spaces for them to grow, these mangoes are no longer surviving only in memory.
From Kukkila’s Maavu Mantapa to scattered orchards across the Ghats, Karnataka’s wild mangoes remind us that heritage is not past — it is living: fruits that bind food, ecology, and memory.
In a land dominated by commercial varieties, these treasures endure for their distinctive character, rooted deeply in the Western Ghats.
To protect them is to safeguard biodiversity and, just as importantly, a way of eating, remembering, and belonging.
