Konkan Bahadoli
A widely grown Konkan (Maharashtra) jamun. In a Punjab grafting trial it had the best graft success (83.7% and 82.8%) and sprouted first. It has a large stone, 80% pulp and the lowest TSS of four cultivars at Godhra.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Starts bearing
- Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years (guides differ; TNAU says 6–7)
- Expected yield
- No kg-per-tree figure published; below Goma Priyanka and CISH J-37 on yield at Godhra
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderately tolerant of sodic soil (score 0.42); trunk area fell 33% in a Karnal trial
- Release
- Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurla, Maharashtra
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Konkan Bahadoli is the popular named jamun of Maharashtra's Konkan belt, and its strength is the nursery. In a two-year grafting trial at Abohar, Punjab, it had the best graft success (83.7% and 82.8%) and survival (76.6% and 73.9%), and sprouted first, in 16.6 and 15.3 days. Grafting in March worked best there. Its fruit is a big-stone type. At ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, it had the biggest fruit (13.16 g) of 21 genotypes and also the heaviest stone, 3.05 g. At Godhra its pulp share was 80%, against more than 85% for Goma Priyanka, and its TSS was the lowest of four cultivars. In the Karnal sodic-soil trial it was moderately tolerant (score 0.42).
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Konkan Bahadoli if you graft your own plants, or buy from a nursery, and want the fewest failures: it had the best graft success of four cultivars in the Punjab trial. It is also the named jamun of the Konkan belt, so local advice is easy to find there. Expect a big stone, 80% pulp and the lowest TSS of the four at Godhra. Pick Goma Priyanka for more fruit and sweetness per tree. Pick CISH J-37 on sodic land.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeSpring (February–March) or monsoon (July–August). The monsoon is better (TNAU).
- Spacing10 × 10 m (TNAU). The Godhra trial planted these cultivars at 5 × 5 m.
- Sowing methodPlant a budded or grafted plant, not seedling jamun, in a 1 × 1 × 1 m pit filled with 75% top soil and 25% well-rotted farmyard manure or compost (TNAU).
- IrrigationYoung trees need 8 to 10 irrigations a year. A mature tree needs about half that, given in May and June while the fruit ripens. In autumn and winter irrigate only when the soil is dry (TNAU).
- HarvestingHarvest in June–July by hand. Ripe fruit cannot stay on the tree, so pick as it ripens (TNAU).
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Deep, well-drained loam gives the best yield. The tree tolerates salinity and waterlogging. Very heavy or very light sandy soils are uneconomical (TNAU).
Climate
- Climate
- Tropical and subtropical, up to 1,300 m in the lower Himalayas. Dry weather is needed at flowering and fruit set, and early rain helps ripening (TNAU).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- The best graft success of four cultivars (83.7% and 82.8%), so nurseries and farmers lose fewer plants
- Earliest to sprout after grafting, in about 16 days
- Bold fruit: the biggest of 21 genotypes at ICAR-IIHR (13.16 g)
Things to consider
- The stone is the heaviest of 21 genotypes (3.05 g) and pulp is 80% at Godhra, below Goma Priyanka and CISH J-42.
- It had the lowest TSS of the four cultivars at Godhra.
- Moderately tolerant of sodic soil (0.42), well below CISH J-37 (0.76).
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
What the Abohar grafting trial found
Four jamun cultivars were grafted in south-west Punjab (Abohar) over two years: Konkan Bahadoli, Goma Priyanka, CISH J-37 and CISH J-42.
Konkan Bahadoli took first place both years. Graft success was 83.7% and 82.8%, and survival 76.6% and 73.9%. It sprouted in 16.6 and 15.3 days, and had the most sprouts and leaves, the tallest grafts and the best chlorophyll index. Goma Priyanka came next. March grafting worked best.
Use this as a guide, not a law. It is one place and two years. TNAU gives other seasons for other regions, July–August in low-rain areas. Graft 20 plants in your own season first, count how many take, and only then scale up.
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 Jamun (Indian Blackberry) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CISH J-37 | Jamun on sodic or alkaline land, where the other cultivars lose more growth | Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years (guides differ; TNAU says 6–7) | No kg-per-tree figure published; second-highest yield of four cultivars at Godhra | Uttar Pradesh |
| CISH J-42 (seedless type) | A seedless jamun for fresh sale or pulp, on ordinary non-sodic land | Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years (guides differ; TNAU says 6–7) | No kg-per-tree figure published; lowest yield of four cultivars at Godhra | Uttar Pradesh |
| Goma Priyanka | A productive, smaller jamun tree for closer planting on ordinary soil | Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years; ICAR's 50–70 kg a tree is from the 10th year | 50–70 kg/tree from the 10th year (ICAR) | Gujarat, Maharashtra |
| Konkan Bahadolithis page | A jamun that grafts with fewer losses, for nurseries and first-time farmers | Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years (guides differ; TNAU says 6–7) | No kg-per-tree figure published; below Goma Priyanka and CISH J-37 on yield at Godhra | Maharashtra, Karnataka |
| Narendra Jamun-6 | An eastern Uttar Pradesh jamun to plant only after you have seen it fruiting | Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years (guides differ; TNAU says 6–7) | No separate figure published | Uttar Pradesh |
| Rajendra Jamun-1 | A Bihar jamun to plant only after a fruit and pulp test on a tree you can see | Grafted plant: first fruit in about 4–7 years (guides differ; TNAU says 6–7) | No separate figure published | Bihar |
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 Jamun (Indian Blackberry) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Jamun (Indian Blackberry) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Jamun (Indian Blackberry) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Jamun (Indian Blackberry) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Jamun (Indian Blackberry) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Jamun (Indian Blackberry) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Jamun (Indian Blackberry) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Konkan Bahadoli fruit weigh 25–28 g, as some websites say?
The only measured figure we found is 13.16 g, from ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru (2017 and 2018, 21 genotypes). It was the biggest in that study. Fruit size changes with place, nutrition and year, so weigh your own fruit and do not sell on a website's number.
Is Konkan Bahadoli a good choice for pulp or juice?
Not the best. It has the heaviest stone of 21 genotypes (3.05 g) and 80% pulp at Godhra. CISH J-42 had over 92% and Goma Priyanka over 85%. Per 100 kg of fruit, Konkan Bahadoli gives 5 to 12 kg less pulp. It suits fresh sale of large fruit better.
When is the best time to graft Konkan Bahadoli?
It depends on the place. The Abohar (south-west Punjab) trial found March best. TNAU advises budding in July–August in low-rainfall areas, or May–June where rains start early and heavy. Use one-year-old seedling stock 10–14 mm thick, and try a small lot in your own area first.
How good is Konkan Bahadoli on sodic soil?
Only moderately tolerant. At Karnal it scored 0.42, and its trunk area fell 33%, the biggest loss of the four. CISH J-37 scored 0.76 and lost 18%. If your soil is sodic, Konkan Bahadoli's good grafting does not make up for that.
How long before a grafted Konkan Bahadoli tree fruits?
TNAU says a grafted jamun bears in 6–7 years, against 8–10 years for a seedling, and commercial bearing starts 8–10 years after planting. No source gives a separate age for Konkan Bahadoli. June–July is the usual harvest.
Sourced from: Jamun — TNAU Agritech Portal, Horticulture: Fruits, Impact of systematic improvement in jamun cultivars on yield and quality of fruits — Indian Journal of Arid Horticulture (ICAR e-Pubs), Physiological traits underlying sodicity tolerance in jamun cultivars — PeerJ / PMC, Effect of grafting on success and survivability of jamun varieties — Journal of Horticultural Sciences (ICAR-IIHR). editorial policy.