Pratishthan
A sour-sweet red tamarind from the Fruit Research Station, Himayatbagh, Aurangabad. Its release description gives 61% pulp; a 2026 comparison measured 49.8%.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Imli (Tamarind)
- Type
- Grafted improved variety
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Bears from year 4 (TNAU, tamarind in general)
- Expected yield
- Pulp share 61% in the release description, 49.8% measured in a 2026 comparison; no tree yield found
- Suitable soil
- All soils
- Disease resistance
- Not published
- Release
- Fruit Research Station, Himayatbagh, Aurangabad, Maharashtra; release year not found
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Pratishthan (also written Prathisthan or Pratisthan) is a tamarind selection from the Fruit Research Station, Himayatbagh, Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. One source places the station under Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani. The release description gives a sour-sweet red pulp and large, straight pods with a white endocarp, with pulp 61%, shell 27% and seed 12%. A 2026 comparison of Indian cultivars measured 49.8% pulp for Pratisthan and ranked it with Goma Prateek and Ajanta as promising for yield and food quality. TNAU's tamarind page lists the name Prathisthan among its varieties.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Pratishthan if you farm in Maharashtra and sell pulp. Its release description gives 61% pulp, 27% shell and 12% seed, and a recent comparison measured 49.8% pulp. Even the lower figure is well above the 28% found in local trees in an ICAR-IIHR study in Tumkur. Ask the nursery for the mother tree, because the name is spelled Prathisthan and Pratisthan as well.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJune to December is the best planting time for tamarind grafts (TNAU).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- 61% pulp, 27% shell and 12% seed in the release description.
- Still 49.8% pulp in a 2026 comparison, well above 28% in local trees.
- Large, straight pods with a white endocarp.
Things to consider
- The 61% and 49.8% pulp figures differ by 11.2 points. Plan with the lower one.
- No tree yield, release year or disease score was found.
- Sources differ on which university the station belongs to.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
Two pulp figures for one tree: 61% against 49.8%
The release description gives Pratishthan pulp 61%, shell 27% and seed 12%, which add up to 100 kg from 100 kg of pods. A 2026 comparison of Indian tamarind cultivars measured 49.8% pulp for Pratisthan. The first is the figure a station quotes for a good pod. The second is what a trial measured across its samples. They need not be wrong, but they come from different methods and different trees.
The gap matters in money. From 10 t of pods, 61% is 6.1 t of pulp and 49.8% is 4.98 t, a difference of about 1.1 t. Local trees in the ICAR-IIHR Tumkur study gave 28%, which is 2.8 t from the same 10 t of pods. So even the cautious figure for Pratishthan is about 2.2 t of pulp more than a local tree.
Plan with 49.8% and treat anything above it as a bonus. When you buy grafts, weigh 10 pods from the mother tree, deseed them and calculate your own pulp share. If it is near 50%, you have the tree you wanted.
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 Pratishthan as a graft, and spell the name out when you order.
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-2 | 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 |
| Pratishthanthis page | 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
Why is Pratishthan spelled in three ways?
The name is written Prathisthan in TNAU, Pratisthan in the 2026 comparison and Pratishthan in other lists. They refer to the same Aurangabad selection. Nurseries may spell it any way, so ask for the mother tree and a pod from it, and do not go by the tag alone.
Who released Pratishthan?
The Fruit Research Station at Himayatbagh, Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. One source places it under Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani. We found no release year or notification, so ask the station if you need a document for a nursery or a subsidy.
How does Pratishthan compare with Goma Prateek?
A 2026 comparison of Indian cultivars named Goma Prateek, Ajanta and Pratisthan as promising for yield and food quality. Goma Prateek had the longest pods (15.0 cm) and a pulp weight of 9.21 g. Pratisthan measured 49.8% pulp. The abstract we saw does not give both on one scale, so weigh both yourself.
What do Pratishthan pods look like?
The release description gives large, straight pods with a white endocarp, the inner lining, and a sour-sweet red pulp. Straight pods are easier to deseed and pack than curved ones. Check the shape and the pulp colour on the mother tree before you buy.
Is Pratishthan good for Karnataka or Tamil Nadu?
It is a Maharashtra selection and we found no trial elsewhere. TNAU lists the name among its varieties, but names PKM 1 and Urigam as the preferred ones for its own belt. Try 5 to 10 trees of Pratishthan beside your local type and keep records for several seasons before you plant more.
Sourced from: Tamarind — TNAU Agritech Portal (horticulture, spice crops), Biochemical, mineral and morphological properties of Indian tamarind cultivars — Food Science & Nutrition, 2026, A promising new tamarind selection, Lakshamana — Journal of Horticultural Sciences 15(2), 2020 (ICAR-IIHR), Tamarind varieties (Pratisthan release description) — Arowest. editorial policy.