Mangoes: Himachal’s cold clime springs a surprise

The man behind this revolution, which began in 1919, was Samuel Evans Stokes, a Christian missionary, who later converted to Hinduism and became popular by the name Satyanand Stokes, father-in-law of Vidya Stokes, Himachal’s senior Congress politician. Incidentally, Samuel Evans Stokes was also the only American to be jailed for actively participating in India’s freedom struggle.

Stokes not only introduced some of the best varieties of American apples in the area, but also inspired hill farmers to take to a culture of growing apples as a commercial crop. A century later, the apple production has exceeded six lakh metric tonnes.

Now, the apple bowl is ready with another surprise, which is yet unknown to many, both within and outside the state. Gopal Mehta, an innovative horticulturist at village Samathala in Kotgarh-Thanedar area, has set a new record of growing mangoes at a height of 5,000 feet. The experiment, admits state Horticulture Director Gurdev Singh, is going to set a trend for all progressive fruit growers in Himachal.

Mehta obtained three varieties of mangoes — Amarpali, Malda and Mali. “Motivated by the success, I chose to go in for full-fledged plantation of mangoes three year later. Some extra care was needed to save the early plants from frost. I did not use any pesticides or chemicals and tried to cultivate them organically,” he told The Indian Express.

By now, Mehta has nearly a dozen varieties of mangoes in his orchard. The most popular varieties include ‘Dasahari, Langda, Chausa, Ratna, Malda, Mali, Alphonso’ and newer varieties of Annapurna and Ramkila.

Some of the local scientists said the area where Mehta had grown the mangoes may have had its own locational advantages and safety from frost but the experiment would be difficult to replicate in other apple-growing areas as mangoes require a warmer climate.

Mehta, however, said some farmers were taking tips from him. Lending credence to his claim is Hari Man Sharma of village Paniayala in Ghumarwin, Bilaspur, who was in the news last month for producing quality apple, kiwi, lichi and mango in warmer climatic conditions.