23 years after launch, Sonpari still a goldmine for farmers

SURAT: After 23 years of its launch, farmers are not getting saplings of Sonpari even when they are ready to pay Rs 700 for a sapling of this hybrid variety of mango. A large number of farmers want to grow Sonpari because of its quality and marketable value but there are not enough saplings available.
Developed by Agriculture Experimental Station, Paria, of Navsari Agricultural University (NAU), and released in 2000, this variety got its name from its bright golden yellow colour on ripening. A hybrid of mother alphonso and father baneshan had not got quick response initially.
But over the past 10 years, few experimental farmers have come forward to plant a few saplings of Sonpari. There was no demand for this variety till recently. Saplings of popular mango varieties like alphonso and kesar are easily available at Rs 100 a piece.
“Normally, any new fruit variety takes 10 to 15 years to become popular. Fruiting in trees that were planted in the last 5-10 years is amazing and farmers are searching for saplings. They are ready to pay even Rs 700 for each sapling,” said D K Sharma, professor of horticulture at NAU.
NAU nursery has a waiting list of 22,000 saplings and it distributed 5,000 saplings last year. This year, they are working to increase the numbers considering the demand.
“Earlier, it did not have commercial value but now people are paying good price for Sonpari the way they pay for alphonso. Considering its marketability, farmers are ready to grow it,” Sharma said.
Officials say normally saplings of top varieties are sold at Rs 70 to Rs 100 a piece but farmers are ready to pay Rs 600 to Rs 700 for each Sonpari sapling. “Because of good quality fruit and regular fruiting, farmers are now preferring it,” said Dinesh Padaliya, deputy director of horticulture, Navsari.
Farmers say Sonpari has the taste of alphonso but no spongy tissue like it. Further, the fruit is big in size. “A few of the fruits in my farm are 400 grams in weight, which is bigger than alphonso. After tasting it, customers are ready to pay a better price for it than alphonso,” said Bharat Desai, a farmer from Valsad.
“The fruit has more pulp compared to alphonso or kesar and the seed is smaller. The trees in my farm started bearing fruits after three years of plantation,” said Divyesh Chauhan, a farmer in Mahuva of Surat.