PKM-2
A Periyakulam selection that a review names with PKM-1, PKM-3 and Urigam. TNAU's tamarind page does not list it, and we found no figures for it.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Imli (Tamarind)
- Type
- Grafted improved variety
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Not published for PKM-2; TNAU gives bearing from year 4 for tamarind in general
- Expected yield
- No variety figure published; TNAU gives 150 to 200 kg of pods a tree for tamarind in general
- Suitable soil
- All soils
- Disease resistance
- Not published
- Release
- Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam, TNAU (named in a review); release record not found
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
PKM-2 is a tamarind selection from the Periyakulam station of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. A review of tamarind improvement lists PKM-1, PKM-2, PKM-3 and Urigam among the Tamil Nadu selections made for higher yield and pulp. TNAU's own tamarind page names PKM 1, Urigam, Hasanur, Prathisthan, DTS 1 and Yogeshwari, and does not name PKM-2. We found no release year, yield, pod size, pulp share or disease score for it. Below are ways to check a tree, since there are no numbers to trust.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick PKM-2 only if a Periyakulam nursery can show you the mother tree and its pods. A review names it with PKM-1, PKM-3 and Urigam as Tamil Nadu selections made for yield and pulp, but TNAU's tamarind page lists PKM 1 and Urigam and not PKM-2, and we found no yield, pod or pulp figure for it. Choose PKM-1 or Urigam if you want a variety with some numbers behind it.
Sowing & cultivation
- Spacing8 to 10 m x 8 to 10 m for tamarind in general (TNAU).
- Sowing methodSoftwood grafting in March and April, or air layering with IBA at 4000 ppm (TNAU, tamarind in general).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A Periyakulam selection, from the station that also made PKM-1.
- Named with PKM-1, PKM-3 and Urigam among the Tamil Nadu selections for yield and pulp.
Things to consider
- TNAU's tamarind page does not list it, and we found no yield, pod, pulp or disease figure.
- It may be hard to find as a graft. Ask the Periyakulam college for the mother tree.
- No release record was found.
Suitable regions
A Periyakulam selection named in a review. We found no state recommendation for it.
- Tamil Nadu
How to check a tamarind with no published numbers before you buy it
Ask the nursery to show the mother tree, and pick 10 pods from it in the March to April picking season. Weigh the 10 pods together. Then break them, remove the shell, seed and fibre, and weigh the pulp. Pulp share is pulp weight divided by pod weight, times 100. An ICAR-IIHR study in Tumkur found 28% in local trees and 43% in a selected tree. A lecture note gives 40% for PKM-1.
Use Periyakulam's own collection as a yardstick. Its 31 tamarind collections, tested from 2015 to 2018, ranged from 4.80 to 16.70 cm in pod length, 13.87 to 21.02 g in pod weight, 4.40 to 7.14 g in pulp weight and 4 to 8 seeds a pod. A mother tree whose pods sit near the top of those ranges is worth a graft. One near the bottom is not, whatever name is on the tag.
Then ask the questions that decide the price you will get: how old the tree is, whether it bears every year, and how many kilograms of pods a full-grown tree gave last season. Write the answers down. A grafted tree is a 9-year decision, because TNAU puts the economic crop at the 9th year.
Where the planting material comes from
Tamarind is highly cross-pollinated and has long been grown from seed, so seedlings vary widely (ICAR-IIHR). Trees raised from the seed of a named variety will not come true. TNAU propagates tamarind by softwood grafting in March and April, or by air layering with IBA at 4000 ppm. Buy PKM-2 as a graft only, and ask for the mother tree.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Imli (Tamarind) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTS-1 | Sweet red pulp (Karnataka) | Bears from year 4 (TNAU, tamarind in general) | No variety figure published; TNAU gives 150 to 200 kg of pods a tree for tamarind in general | Karnataka |
| Goma Prateek | Dry west, semi-dwarf, regular | Flowers from year 4 (Indian Horticulture); CIAH quotes 58.50 kg of fruit a plant | 58.50 kg of fruit a plant (one source says in year 4, CIAH ties it to year 9) | Rajasthan, Gujarat |
| PKM-1 | Tamil Nadu tamarind belt | Bears from year 4; economic crop from year 9 (TNAU, tamarind in general) | TNAU: 150 to 200 kg of pods a tree a year for tamarind; a lecture note gives 270 to 300 kg for PKM-1 | Tamil Nadu |
| PKM-2this page | Little data published | Not published for PKM-2; TNAU gives bearing from year 4 for tamarind in general | No variety figure published; TNAU gives 150 to 200 kg of pods a tree for tamarind in general | Tamil Nadu |
| Pratishthan | High pulp share, Maharashtra | Bears from year 4 (TNAU, tamarind in general) | Pulp share 61% in the release description, 49.8% measured in a 2026 comparison; no tree yield found | Maharashtra |
| Urigam | Long pods, sweet pulp | Bears from year 4 (TNAU, tamarind in general) | No variety figure published; TNAU gives 150 to 200 kg of pods a tree for tamarind in general | Tamil Nadu |
| Yogeshwari | Red pulp, high yield | Bears from year 4 (TNAU, tamarind in general) | Described as a high-yielding type; no figure found | Maharashtra, Karnataka |
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 Imli (Tamarind) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Imli (Tamarind) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Imli (Tamarind) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Imli (Tamarind) 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 Imli (Tamarind) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Imli (Tamarind) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is PKM-2 better than PKM-1?
We found no trial that compares them. TNAU's tamarind page lists PKM 1 and not PKM-2, and the only figures we found (270 to 300 kg of pods a tree, 40% pulp) are for PKM-1. Plant a few trees of each for several seasons before you choose for the whole orchard.
Who developed PKM-2?
PKM stands for the Periyakulam station of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, which made PKM-1. A review of tamarind improvement lists PKM-1, PKM-2 and PKM-3 as Tamil Nadu selections for yield and pulp. We found no release notice for PKM-2, so ask the Periyakulam college.
How do I measure the pulp share of a tree?
Weigh 10 pods together, remove the shell, seed and fibre from them, weigh the pulp, and divide pulp weight by pod weight. Multiply by 100. Local trees gave 28% in an ICAR-IIHR study and a selected tree 43%. Do it on more than one day, because pods dry out and lose weight.
What pod size should I look for?
Periyakulam's 31 collections gave pods of 4.80 to 16.70 cm, pod weight of 13.87 to 21.02 g and pulp of 4.40 to 7.14 g a pod. Pods near the top of those ranges mean more pulp per pod. Long pods alone do not decide it, so weigh the pulp too.
When do I pick the pods?
TNAU says the pods are picked in March and April each year. In the ICAR-IIHR Tumkur study the pods matured in February and March and were collected from February to mid-June, with the branches shaken or the pods allowed to fall. Dry the pods in the sun for a few days before deseeding.
Sourced from: Tamarind — TNAU Agritech Portal (horticulture, spice crops), Performance of tamarind collections for pod yield and quality — Jansirani and Chitra, HC&RI Periyakulam (TNAU), A promising new tamarind selection, Lakshamana — Journal of Horticultural Sciences 15(2), 2020 (ICAR-IIHR). editorial policy.