‘Noor Jahan’, giant of a mango, loses glow as only 8 trees remain in Madhya Pradesh

India: Madhya Pradesh’s popular ‘Noor Jahan’ mango, which weighs around 3.5 kg, is losing its lustre, as only eight fruit-bearing trees are left in Alirajpur district, an official said on Sunday.

There are only eight ‘Noor Jahan’ mango trees left in private orchards in Katthiwada area and this is a matter of concern, Alirajpur’s Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) head Dr RK Yadav told PTI.

A few decades ago, a fruit from this mango variety used to weigh up to 4.5 kg, but it has now come down to around 3.5 kg, he said.

“We want to save the ‘Noor Jahan’ mango for the future generations. We have planted two trees through the propagation method and they are expected to bear fruit in the next three to four years. After that, we will prepare more trees using this method,” Dr Yadav said.

While ‘Noor Jahan’ is a larger and fleshier fruit, it is not as tasty as other varieties of mangoes, he said.

“We want to enhance the taste of ‘Noor Jahan’ variety through research,” the official said.

Since this mango variety has a lot of pulp, the prospects for its use in the food processing industry are bright, he said.