District Agricultural Farm, Taliparamba
Encyclopedia
Established in 1905, District Agricultural Farm, Kannur
Kannur district
Kannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name Cannanore is the anglicised form of the Malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and...

 is one of the oldest farms in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

. Located at Taliparamba, this station was started by Sir Charles Alfred Barber at the behest of the Madras Government, based on the recommendation of the Famine Commission of 1880 of Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

. Although the objective was to do research on pepper
Piperaceae
The Piperaceae, also known as the pepper family, is a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,610 currently accepted species in five genera. The vast majority of peppers can be found within the two main genera: Piper and Peperomia .Members of the Piperaceae may be small...

, the activities of the farm were further extended to agroclimatic experiments, hybridization and production and distribution of seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s and seedling
Seedling
thumb|Monocot and dicot seedlingsA seedling is a young plant sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle , the hypocotyl , and the cotyledons...

s. Covering an area of 56 hectares, the farm has a rich biodiversity with a variety of indigenous and exotic fruit tree
Fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by people — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term 'fruit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for...

s (such as Mangosteen
Mangosteen
The purple mangosteen , colloquially known simply as mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m tall...

, Rambootan, and Durian
Durian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...

), spices and medicinal plants
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...

. The lush greenery with its array of crops such as Coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

, Areca nut, Cashew
Cashew
The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...

, Mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

, Sapota
Sapodilla
Manilkara zapota, commonly known as the sapodilla, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatan in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion, where it is a subdominant plant species...

, Jack, Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

, Cocoa, Nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

, Clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...

 and Pepper and the adjoining paddy field
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...

 attracts many nature lovers and environmentalists to the farm. Recognizing the importance of the flora and fauna of the station, Kannur District
Kannur district
Kannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name Cannanore is the anglicised form of the Malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and...

 Panchayat has established a ‘Biodiversity Centre’ and an ‘Indigenous Technology Knowledge Centre’ at the farm in 2005. Thousands of students, researchers, teachers and the general public from all over the state and the neighboring states make use of the facilities of the farm to improve and update their knowledge through study visits every year.

Quite reputed for its mango orchard with more than 62 varieties, the farm is a treat to mango lovers during the months of March to June. With a collection of varieties from all over India, the farm has produced four hybrid varieties of mango namely, H 45, H 56, H 87 and H 151. The farm participates at fruit and vegetable exhibitions conducted in Kannur and the neighboring districts of Kasargod and Kozhikkode. Benganappally, Alampur Banishan, Neelam, Alphonso, Kalapady, Himayudheen, Jahangir, Chinnarasa, Panjarakalasa, Priyori and Malgoa are among the popular varieties of Mango grown and multiplied in this farm.

The farm meets the requirements of the farming community through production and distribution of rooted pepper cuttings, cashew grafts, grafts of mango, sapota, mangostene and nutmeg, seedlings of fruit crops and spices, seedlings of arecanut, paddy seeds, vegetable seeds, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

 and tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...

 crops (such as ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

, turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...

 and yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...

.

Sir Charles Alfred Barber

Sir Charles Alfred Barber, a botanist and taxonomist under the British government stayed at Karimbam as part of his assignment to make a study of plants for the preparation of a kind of registry titled `Flora of the Madras Presidency'. Dr.Barber was born at Wynberg in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 in 1860. He was the son of William Barber (a Wesleyan Minister and younger brother of Dr. W T A Barber)and Annie Barber.He married Edith Leather, daughter of Rev G R Osborn. He leaves a son, Geoffrey Osborn Barber (1904–1989) and a daughter,Elsie Weeling Barber(1903-). He went to Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 before going out to Madras as the Government Botanist. Dr. Barber started his work here after he was appointed the Director of the Botanical Survey of India. He was also a sugar cane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

expert. After retiring from India in 1919 (having been made C I E in 1918) Dr.Barber was appointed Lecturer in Tropical Agriculture at Cambridge. His career includes: Superintendent of the Botanical Stations in the Leeward Islands, 1892–96; Lecturer in Botany at the Royal Engineering College, Cooper's Hill, 1896–98; Government Botanist, Madras Presidency, 1898–1912; Director of Botanical Survey of Southern India, 1898–1908; Head of the Agricultural College, Coimbatore, 1908; Sugar-cane expert to the Government of India, 1912–19; University Lecturer on Tropical Agriculture, 1919. He died on February 23, 1933, aged 72. A distinguished investigator of morphological problems, he did much exploratory botanical work while in the tropics, which has been utilised in Gamble's Flora. he had also published an important series of studies in parasitism of green trees in the Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture, India. He was awarded the Maynard Ganga Ram Prize for Indian research, 1931. He published several books on grasses and other horticultural subjects.

Mango Orchard

More than 60 distinct types of Mango cultivars collected from different parts of India were planted in the orchard during the fifties. Varietal characteristics are described here as observed at the farm. Almost all varieties have a wide range of adaptability under south Indian conditions and the performance of flowering and fruiting vary significantly based on climatic and soil factors. Also there could be considerable confusion in the nomenclature of a few varieties due to many synonyms for a single cultivar. In such cases, name of the variety along with common synonyms have been furnished. Most of the varieties grown at the farm were collected years ago from growers and nursery men and the names signify size, shape, colour, name of a place or king and even local dialects. Hybridisation works were undertaken at the farm in the sixties and 225 hybrids were brought out at the farm. Of the various hybrids assessed only a few had been found promising. Even among the hybrids of same parentage enormous variation in fruit size, shape, quality and bearing behavior were observed. A number of hybrid seedlings of each parental combination were planted in the orchard to select the desirable ones. Consequently, 4 varieties, namely H 45, H 56, H 87, H 151 were released. Details of other hybrids are mentioned elsewhere.
ALPHONSO

This Mango (also known as "Hapuz" or "Hafooz") is called the "King of Mangoes" by its proponents. It has a thin skin and pulp is fibreless. Extremely fragrant with a unique aroma and appealing flavor. Delicious and yummy. Excellent shape, size and colour. Very good keeping quality. Its peak season is from mid-April to mid-May. The tree shows vigorous growth, however has sparse bearing habit in South India. Biennial in habit. Immatured fruits are sour in taste. The most popular variety in markets abroad.
BANGANPALLI

Also called BANESHAN.This Mango is the most famous variety from the Andhra Pradesh region of India. It has a unique sweet taste and is moderately juicy. Fruit is large in size and obliquely oval in shape. It is maize yellow in color with shining skin and fiberless firm flesh. Good keeping quality. Biennial in habit. Its season is between mid-April and mid-May. Weighs about 700 gms
HIMAYUDHEEN

First quality in terms of preferred flavor. Fully ripened fruits are green on the outside. Fibreless pulp. Fruits can be eaten in unripe form while still green. Weighs about 800gms. Peak season is from May to June.
ALAMPUR BANESHAN

On of the most delicious mango variety of the South with a unique sweet taste. fibreless pulp. The tree and the fruit resembles HIMAYUDHEEN to a larger extent. Matured fruits weighs about 750 gms. Better keeping quality compared to other varieties. Harvesting season is during May–June.
KALAPADY

It possesses an appealing flavor. It has a thick skin and hence keeping quality of mature fruits are better compared to others. The tree has heavy cluster bearing habits. Weighs about 250 gms. Harvest season is during March–April.
H 151

First of the four hybrid varieties released from District Agricultural Farm. It is a cross between Kalapady and Neelam. To a larger extent resembles Neelam on the outside while the fibreless pulp is akin to that of Kalapady in texture. Fully ripened fruits have camphor like flavor. Heavy cluster bearing type. It normally flowers quite early in the season, however takes time to get matured. It weighs about 250 gms. The tree is somewhat dwarf with late bearing habits. Harvesting season is during June–July. Sometimes flowers appear twice in a year, whence harvesting can be done in March also.
H 87

Second of the four hybrid varieties released from District Agricultural Farm. It is a cross between Kalapady and Alampur Baneshan. Fibreless and juicy. The best time for the fruit is during April–May. Weighs about 300gms. To a larger extent the size and growing habits of the tree resembles Kalapady. The tree has regular bearing habit.
H 45

A cross between Bennett Alphonso and Himayudheen, this is third hybrid released from District Agricultural Farm. Fruit resembles Bennet Alphonso in shape. Fully ripened fruits are green on the outside with the yellowish pulp having sweet aroma and a unique flavor. It weighs about 500 gms. Cluster bearing with vigorous growth habit. Harvesting season is during May–June.
H 56

The fourth hybrid variety released from District Agricultural Farm. It is a cross between Bennett Alphonso and Himayudheen. The fruit, weighing about 400 gms, has thick pulp and has an Apple like shape. Slightly sour when not fully ripened. Harvesting season is during May–June.The tree has heavy cluster bearing habit.
NEELAM

Grows in a variety of climatic conditions. This variety is found to be cultivated largely in South India, especially Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Regular and heavy cluster bearing habit. Late bearing with harvesting season being June to August. Good keeping quality. Fibreless fruits are sweet to taste. Average fruit weight is 150 gms. Pulp percentage is 59.
JAHANGIR

Fibreless fruit can be eaten in unripe form while still grteen as they lack acidity. Big in size, the fruit weighs about 600 gms. The tree has regular, heavy cluster bearing habit, however growth is not vigorous.
PANCHADARA KALASA

Sucking type characterized by juicy and soft flesh with fibres. attractive shape. Produce fruits in bunches. The fruit weighs about 350 gms. Harvesting season is during May–June.
SUVARNAREKHA

Attractive golden colour with a red blush on the cheeks, when fully ripe. Fibrous juicy fruits are slightly sour. Fruit is medium in size and ovate oblong in shape. Fruit quality is medium and keeping quality is good. Harvesting season is during May–June.
BANGALORA

Also called SELAM, KILICHUNDAN, THOTHAPURI. Second in terms of preferred flavor. It can be identified by its unique beak at the bottom. Pulp is fibreless, thick and juicy. Known as the mango of the common man. Big and affordable, it has no unique flavor of its own. Stone inside is virtually flat. Medium sweet in taste. Season is from May to June. Polyembryonic. The tree has regular and heavy cluster bearing habits. Very good keeping quality.
MALGOA

Widely cultivated in Andhra Pradesh. Large and round fruits with a distinct taste of its own. Good keeping quality. Medium sweet in taste. Season is during May–June. Weighs about 400 gms.
AMMINI

Only immature fruits can be consumed. The fruits lack palatability when ripe. The big fruits are of ornamental nature and serve as a sort of curiosity. However immature fruits can be used for pickle. The fruit weighs around 1 kilogram. Harvesting season is during May–July
AMRAPALI

Evolved at IARI, Newdelhi in 1978. It is a cross between Dashehari and Neelam.it is a dwarf vigorous type with regular, prolific and late bearing habits. It yields on average 16 tonnes per hectare. Suitable for high density orcharding. Relatively small fruit size. Regular and prolific bearing. High pulp percentage.The flesh is deep orange red.
MUNDAPPA

The tree has regular bearing habit. Fruit weighs around 300gms. Harvesting season is May–June
CHOTTA JAHANGIR

It possesses all the characteristics of Jahangir, except for the size of the fruit which is slightly smaller.
CREEPING

Fruit is medium sweet in taste. Thick skinned. Weighs around 150 gms. Season is during May–June
KUDADAD

Fruit weighs around 500 gms. Thick skinned. Slightly fibrous. Season is during May–June
ROOTJACK

Size as big as a jack fruit, hence the name. Weighs about 2-3 kilograms. Mainly used for preparation of pickles. Harvesting season is during May–June
PUTTU

Fruits are slightly sour even when fully ripe. Weighs around 400 gms. Season is May–June
MAHARAJPASAND

Big sized fruit weighing about 1 kilogram. Used for pickles. Harvesting season is May–June
PHIRANGI LADUA

Ripened fruits are sweet. Fruits weigh around 400 gms. Harvesting season is May–June
RUMANI

A variety of south India. Slightly sour even when fully ripe. Weighs around 350 gms. Season is during May–June.
VELLAKOLAMBAN

The tree normally ripens early in the season. Fruit is fibrous. Tree has regular bearing habit. Weighs around 200 gms. Season is during March–May
MALLIKA

It is a cross between Neelam and Dashehari. Released by IARI, Newdelhi in 1971. Fruits are medium sizes cadmium clored with good quality. The tree is semi-vigorous, medium to heavy cropper and has a strong tendency to bear regularly. The fruit has an attractive appearance and the average fruit weight is 300 gms. Pulp percentage is 74. Pulp is fibreless and firm and the stone is very thin. Good keeping quality.
CHANDRAKKARAN

Fruits are small in size. Sweet and Juicy. can be used for pickling. The phenomenon of polyembryony (formation of more than one embryo in the seed) is known to occur in this variety. Mango season is during March–April

Karimbam Biodiversity Centre

The Bioiversity Centre was inaugurated at the farm in 2005 with the objective of protection of the rich biodiversity of the area. An arboretum for scientific study of the region's flora was set up in the year 2006. The centre also has a museum of rare medicinal plants.

Indigenous Technology Knowledge Centre

The Centre, first of its kind to be developed in the State, is expected to evolve into an informal university to promote studies and researches on indigenous knowledge and agricultural practices. An agricultural information centre has been set up at the Centre.

Sources

  • http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/23/stories/2005082305680300.htm
  • http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/04/stories/2006040402350200.htm
  • http://searches2.rootsweb.com/th/read/INDIA/2008-04/1208368688
  • http://www.jstor.org/pss/4113533
  • http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.A.Barber

Links

  • http://www.cbd.int/idb/
  • http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Alfred_Barber
  • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_mango_cultivars
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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