Anab-e-Shahi
Raised from rooted cuttings, not true seed. One of the oldest grape varieties grown in India — large, amber, seeded berries grown for the fresh table market across the Deccan long before Thompson Seedless arrived.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Grapes
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- Bearing from year 2–3 (rooted-cutting-raised vine)
- Expected yield
- 300–350 q/ha at full bearing
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Introduced to Hyderabad from the Middle East by Abdul Baquer Khan around 1890; named 'Anab-e-Shahi' ('royal grape') by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1943; commercialised by state horticulturist Late Shankar Pillay through the 1960s.
About this variety
Anab-e-Shahi is one of India's oldest cultivated grape varieties, introduced to Hyderabad from the Middle East by Abdul Baquer Khan around 1890, per a directly-fetched The Hans India feature quoting Dr D. Vijaya, Principal Scientist at the Grape Research Station, Rajendranagar. 'Anab' is Arabic for grape and 'Shahi' means royal — a name conferred by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1943. Late Shankar Pillay, horticulturist to the Nizam's state, commercialised the variety through the 1960s, and Hyderabad set a world grape-production record with it in 1969, at 42 tonnes per acre (about 105 tonnes/ha). Berries are elongated, medium-large, amber-coloured when fully ripe and seeded — a genuinely seeded table grape at a time when the market has moved decisively to seedless. The same directly-fetched source states Anab-e-Shahi is now 'on the brink of extinction' in its Hyderabad heartland, surviving mainly at the Grape Research Station itself, because farmers have shifted to Thompson Seedless and its clones for better market prices — even though Anab-e-Shahi's natural seeds are reported to carry higher nutraceutical value than seedless grapes. A directly-fetched krishijagran.com roundup independently confirms the same c.1890s introduction story and notes the variety's cultivation later spread from Andhra Pradesh into Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, consistent with this record's own states field (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana).
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
Bearing from year 2–3 (rooted-cutting-raised vine)
Expected yield
300–350 q/ha at full bearing
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Genuinely seeded, amber-coloured table grape with reported higher nutraceutical value in its seed and skin than seedless varieties, per a directly-fetched krishijagran.com roundup
- Historic yield record — Hyderabad set a world grape-production record with Anab-e-Shahi in 1969, 42 tonnes/acre (about 105 t/ha), per a directly-fetched The Hans India feature
Things to consider
- Now genuinely on the brink of extinction in its own Hyderabad heartland, surviving mainly at the Grape Research Station, Rajendranagar — farmers have switched almost entirely to Thompson Seedless and its clones for better market prices, per Dr D. Vijaya (Principal Scientist, Grape Research Station), quoted directly in a directly-fetched The Hans India feature. This record's own states field (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) reflects the historic Hyderabad-Deccan heartland rather than current commercial planting scale, which has shrunk sharply
- As a seeded Vitis vinifera cultivar it carries the same lack of natural downy-mildew resistance as Thompson Seedless — this record's own diseaseResistance field already states this
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Andhra Pradesh
- Telangana
Frequently asked questions
Why is Anab-e-Shahi disappearing even though it's India's own heritage grape?
Pure economics — a directly-fetched Hans India feature quotes the Grape Research Station's own principal scientist saying farmers have switched almost entirely to Thompson Seedless and its clones because they fetch better market prices. Anab-e-Shahi now survives mainly at the research station itself, despite once holding a world grape-yield record (42 tonnes/acre, Hyderabad, 1969).
What does the name 'Anab-e-Shahi' mean?
'Anab' is Arabic for grape and 'Shahi' means royal — the Nizam of Hyderabad conferred the name in 1943, decades after the variety was first introduced to the city from the Middle East around 1890 by Abdul Baquer Khan.
Sourced from: Hyderabad: Anab e Shahi losing out to seedless grapes — The Hans India, Top 5 Varieties of Grapes in India — Krishi Jagran. editorial policy.