Chakaiya
One of the oldest amla varieties and the parent of NA-6 and Kanchan. It ripens last of the main varieties (first week of December at Godhra) and its fruit is among the smaller ones (30–33 g). Fibre is reported differently from trial to trial, so ask your buyer to test a sample.
Quick facts
- Type
- Grafted plant (traditional variety)
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Grafted tree. Ripe in the first week of December at Godhra, Gujarat (245 days from fruit set), the last of four varieties.
- Seed rate
- Grown from grafted plants — not sown from seed for commercial planting
- Expected yield
- 52 kg a tree at Bikaner (8 × 8 m orchard planted in 1996, mean of 2002–03). Fruit 33.4 g there, 30.66 g in a rainfed Gujarat trial.
- Suitable soil
- All soils
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance documented
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Chakaiya is one of the oldest amla varieties grown in India, and the parent of NA-6 and Kanchan. Its fruit is on the small side, 33.4 g at Bikaner and 30.66 g in a rainfed Gujarat trial. At Godhra, Gujarat, it ripened last of four varieties, in the first week of December, 245 days after fruit set. At Bikaner (8 × 8 m, planted 1996) it gave 52 kg a tree. Its vitamin C was good, 594 mg per 100 g at Bikaner and 607.48 mg at Parbhani. Fibre is where reports disagree: it is known as a fibrous type, yet the Parbhani trial recorded the lowest fibre in Chakaiya, 0.66%, and the highest pulp, 96.74%. Because the figure changes with place and method, ask your buyer to test a sample.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Chakaiya if you want the last picking of the season, in the first week of December at Godhra, and a fruit with good vitamin C (594 mg per 100 g at Bikaner). Do not choose it for big fruit (33.4 g at Bikaner) or for juice: it had the lowest juice, 40%, in the Gujarat trial. Choose NA-7 instead for yield, since it gave 105 kg a tree at Bikaner against Chakaiya's 52 kg. Choose Krishna instead for the biggest fruit (48.3 g at Bikaner).
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timePlant in July–August (TNAU).
- Seed rateGrown from grafted plants — not sown from seed for commercial planting
- Spacing6 × 6 m, in pits of 1 × 1 m or 1.25 × 1.25 m (TNAU). The Bikaner trial planted at 8 × 8 m.
- Sowing methodTNAU lists seedlings, grafts and buddings as planting material. For a named variety plant a graft or bud, because a seedling will not come true to the variety.
- IrrigationWater the young plants to establish them. No irrigation is needed in the rainy and winter seasons. Drip suits amla and can save 40–45% of the water (TNAU).
- FertilizerPer bearing tree a year: 10 kg FYM, 200 g N, 500 g P and 200 g K. Apply it straight after pruning (TNAU).
- HarvestingTNAU gives about 100 kg a tree a year for the crop. Prune in March–April and thin the crowded branches. A ripe fruit's seed turns from creamy white to brown, and fibres show on the seed cover (CHES Vejalpur).
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Amla is hardy and grows in many soils. It tolerates salinity and alkalinity (TNAU).
Climate
- Climate
- A subtropical plant that prefers a dry climate (TNAU).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Ripens last (first week of December at Godhra), so it spreads your picking after the earlier varieties.
- Good vitamin C: 594 mg per 100 g at Bikaner, 607.48 mg at Parbhani.
- An old, widely grown variety and the parent of NA-6 and Kanchan, so nurseries know it.
Things to consider
- Smaller fruit than Krishna, NA-6 and Banarasi (33.4 g at Bikaner, 30.66 g in Gujarat).
- In the Gujarat trial it had the lowest juice, 40%, and high astringency.
- Fibre figures differ between trials, so test a sample if your buyer is strict about fibre.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh
Plan for the last picking of the season
Chakaiya is the variety that keeps your harvest going after the others have finished. At Godhra, Gujarat, NA-7 was ripe in the last week of October, Krishna in the second week of November and Kanchan in the last week of November. Chakaiya ripened in the first week of December, 245 days after fruit set.
That late slot is the reason to plant it. A mixed orchard of NA-7, Krishna, Kanchan and Chakaiya gives you ripe fruit across five or six weeks, so your pickers, your drying yard and your buyers are not all needed in the same week.
Do not leave it hanging for the market. Check the seed: when it has turned from creamy white to brown and fibres show on the seed cover, the fruit is ripe. A late crop is also exposed to the first cold nights, so keep a picking crew booked from the end of November.
Where the planting material comes from
This variety is a grafted plant: the variety on top, joined onto a rootstock below. Seed out of its fruit will not come up as this variety, so it cannot be kept as seed. Buy grafted plants from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Indian Gooseberry (Amla) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banarasi | A big-fruited early amla for fresh and pulp use, planted for fruit size and an October picking, not for the heaviest crop | Grafted tree. Fruit was ripe in the last week of October in a rainfed Gujarat trial (215 days from fruit set). | No kg-per-tree figure found for Banarasi. Fruit weighed 33.90 g in a rainfed Gujarat trial. | Uttar Pradesh |
| BSR-1 (Bhavanisagar) | The Tamil Nadu amla: a released TNAU variety with a stated 155 kg a tree, planted for yield and juice quality in the south | Grafted tree. TNAU gives no ripening month for BSR-1. | 155 kg of fruit a tree a year (TNAU) | Tamil Nadu |
| Chakaiyathis page | The late-ripening old workhorse, planted to stretch the season into December with good vitamin C, not for big fruit or juice | Grafted tree. Ripe in the first week of December at Godhra, Gujarat (245 days from fruit set), the last of four varieties. | 52 kg a tree at Bikaner (8 × 8 m orchard planted in 1996, mean of 2002–03). Fruit 33.4 g there, 30.66 g in a rainfed Gujarat trial. | Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh |
| Kanchan | A small-fruited, vitamin-C-rich amla for pickle and processing in places like Maharashtra, where its yield was best, not for dry arid land | Grafted tree. Ripe in the last week of November at Godhra, Gujarat, and 15–22 November at Vejalpur. | 99.79 kg a tree (3,459 fruits) at Parbhani; 35 kg at Bikaner (8 × 8 m orchard, 2002–03). The yield depends strongly on the place. | Uttar Pradesh |
| Krishna | A large-fruited mid-November amla for fresh sale where size is paid for, not for the highest yield or vitamin C | Grafted tree. Ripe 15–22 November at Vejalpur and in the second week of November at Godhra, Gujarat (213–225 days from fruit set). | 45 kg a tree at Bikaner (8 × 8 m orchard, 2002–03). Second best yield at Bhubaneswar. Fruit 48.3 g at Bikaner, 33.56 g in a rainfed Gujarat trial. | Uttar Pradesh |
| NA-6 | A large-fruited, high-sugar amla that came second on yield at Bikaner, for farmers who want size and sweetness with a good crop | Grafted tree. Harvested in December at Bikaner. No ripening dates for NA-6 in the Gujarat trials we found. | 67 kg a tree at Bikaner (8 × 8 m orchard, 2002–03). Fruit 40.8 g there. | Uttar Pradesh |
| NA-7 | The all-round yield choice: the best-cropping amla in every trial that included it, planted as the backbone of a mixed orchard | Grafted tree. Ripe 23–31 October at Vejalpur and in the last week of October at Godhra, Gujarat (208–215 days from fruit set), the earliest of the main varieties there. | 105 kg a tree at Bikaner (8 × 8 m orchard, 2002–03); 42.34 kg a tree at Bhubaneswar. Fruit 36.52 g at Bikaner, 33.76 g in Gujarat and 42.44 g at Parbhani. | Uttar Pradesh |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Indian Gooseberry (Amla) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Indian Gooseberry (Amla) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Indian Gooseberry (Amla) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Indian Gooseberry (Amla) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Indian Gooseberry (Amla) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Indian Gooseberry (Amla) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
When does Chakaiya ripen compared with other amla?
It ripens last. At Godhra, Gujarat, NA-7 was ripe in the last week of October, Krishna in the second week of November, Kanchan in the last week of November and Chakaiya in the first week of December (245 days from fruit set). In another Gujarat trial (Vejalpur) it ripened on 8–14 November. Your dates will shift with your region.
Is Chakaiya fibrous?
It is known as a fibrous, old-type amla, but trials disagree. The Parbhani trial recorded the lowest fibre in Chakaiya, 0.66%, and the highest pulp, 96.74%. We found no trial that measured fibre across all the main varieties at one place. If fibre matters to your buyer, send a sample of your own fruit for a test, instead of relying on the name.
How much does a Chakaiya tree yield?
At Bikaner, in an orchard planted at 8 × 8 m in 1996, Chakaiya gave 52 kg a tree (mean of 2002 and 2003). NA-7 gave 105 kg and NA-6 67 kg there. Figures of 300–400 kg on very old trees are sometimes quoted, but we found no trial figure to back that. Plan on the trial number, and let age add to it.
Is Chakaiya a good parent for nursery stock?
It is the parent of two later releases, NA-6 and Kanchan, which were selected from it. That makes it a safe, well-known variety for nurseries to graft. Buy grafted plants from a recognised nursery and ask which tree the scion came from. A seedling grown from its fruit will not come true to Chakaiya.
Does Chakaiya suit dry, rainfed land?
Amla in general is hardy and prefers a dry climate (TNAU), and it tolerates salty and alkaline soil. In the rainfed Gujarat trial (Vejalpur), Chakaiya was the shortest tree of the nine, 3.78 m. At Bikaner, in the hot arid zone, it gave 52 kg a tree and was one of four varieties the authors called promising.
Sourced from: Amla — TNAU Agritech Portal, Horticulture: Fruits, Standardization of maturity indices in aonla under semi-arid Western India — Annals of Arid Zone 47(2), 2008, Characterization of aonla varieties under zero irrigation semi-arid conditions — Indian J. Agric. Sci. 85(10), 2015 (CHES Vejalpur), Evaluation of aonla germplasm in hot arid ecosystem — Indian J. Hort. 67 (Special Issue), 2010, Comparative performance of aonla cultivars under Parbhani conditions — Int. J. Bio-resource & Stress Management. editorial policy.