ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands facilitated Shri. Chintaharan Biswas, a progressive mango farmer with 100 mango trees from Shaheed Dweep and supported him in registering his farmer variety, 'Chinta Mango,' with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority, New Delhi.
Chinta Mango is the first mango variety registered under the PPVFRA. Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), presented the certificate to Shri. Biswas during his recent visit to ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair.
The Mango variety belongs to the species Mangifera indica, a cultivated mango species. The special feature of this genotype is the characteristic purple color in the peel at the unripened stage. ICAR-CIARI has made efforts for the morphological and biochemical characterization of this genotype. Fruits are large, and the individual fruit weight ranges from 300-400g. The fruits are delicious with yellow pulp, sweet with less fibre content and the average TSS recorded is 19.6oB. Another unique feature of this genotype is the occurrence of polyembryonic seedlings.
This is an additional advantage of this mango as the purity of the genotype can be maintained by seed propagation. The phytochemical characterization of fruit pulp showed its richness in carotenoids, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant activity. The registration process was facilitated under the supervision of Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Director, ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair.
Source: icar.org.in