Dashehari
Grafted planting material, not true seed. The Malihabad (Lucknow) variety that defines north Indian mango for millions of buyers — the aroma sells it, the alternate-bearing habit is the trade-off.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Mango
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- Bearing from year 4–5 (grafted plant); 60–90 days fruit maturation after flowering
- Expected yield
- 80–100 kg/tree at full bearing (year 10+)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Release
- Landrace discovered in the 1700s near Malihabad (Kakori block, Lucknow) — not an ICAR-bred release. CISH Lucknow began clonal propagation from the original tree's scion in 1977; the 'Malihabadi Dusseheri' GI tag was granted 4 September 2009.
About this variety
Dashehari is a landrace mango discovered in the 1700s near Dasheri village in Malihabad's Kakori block, Lucknow district, per two directly-fetched Wikipedia articles ('Dasheri' and 'Malihabadi Dusseheri Mango'). According to the origin story both articles repeat, a servant of the Malihabad noble Abdul Hameed Khan — who came to be called 'Baba-e-Amba', Father of Mango — found an exceptional mango fruit while travelling through Dasheri village and brought it back; impressed by its flavour and aroma, Abdul Hameed Khan cultivated the seed and performed one of the earliest recorded cases of mango grafting by crossbreeding it onto other local trees. The original mother tree, estimated at roughly 185–200 years old depending on the source, still stands and remains productive near Kakori. CISH Lucknow collected scion material from that tree in 1977 for clonal propagation, and elite grafted clones then spread to North Indian farmers through a network of private and government nurseries. The variety — legally 'Malihabadi Dusseheri' within its notified home tract — received a Geographical Indication tag on 4 September 2009 (valid through 14 May 2028, registered at the Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai, on an application the National Horticulture Board filed in 2008), making it the first mango variety from Uttar Pradesh and only the fourth from India to be GI-protected. Fruit grown outside the notified Malihabad tract can still be sold as 'Dashehari' but, per the GI case study, doesn't match the size, weight, sweetness or colour of fruit from the home area. Fruit is small-to-medium, elongated, vivid yellow, fibreless and richly aromatic, with good storage life for a mango; besides North India it is also grown in Andhra Pradesh, Nepal and Pakistan, and exported to Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Southeast Asian markets.
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
Bearing from year 4–5 (grafted plant); 60–90 days fruit maturation after flowering
Expected yield
80–100 kg/tree at full bearing (year 10+)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Fibreless, richly aromatic pulp that has made it North India's benchmark table mango for generations — the reputation alone drives premium demand
- A 2009 GI tag now formally protects the 'Malihabadi Dusseheri' name for fruit grown in its home tract, distinguishing it from Dashehari grown elsewhere under the same name
- Good storage/keeping quality relative to many other mango cultivars, useful for a fruit sold across such a wide domestic and export network
Things to consider
- This record's own diseaseResistance field already flags moderate powdery-mildew susceptibility and an alternate-bearing habit — nothing variety-specific on powdery mildew turned up this pass, but alternate bearing is a documented trait of old grafted mango landraces generally, consistent with what the record already states
- GI protection covers only fruit grown in the notified Malihabad-area tract; Dashehari sold from other regions or countries carries the same variety name but, per the GI case study, doesn't match the size, weight, sweetness or colour of GI-area fruit
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Bihar
Frequently asked questions
Where did the Dashehari mango originally come from?
From a single tree discovered in the 1700s near Dasheri village in Malihabad's Kakori block, Lucknow district — grafted after a servant's chance find impressed the local noble Abdul Hameed Khan, who propagated it further. CISH Lucknow began multiplying that same tree by scion-grafted clones starting in 1977.
Does 'Dashehari' always mean the same quality of mango?
Not quite — the 'Malihabadi Dusseheri' GI tag, granted in 2009, legally protects the name only for fruit grown in the notified Lucknow-area tract; Dashehari grown in other states or countries carries the same variety name but, per the GI case study, doesn't match the size, sweetness and colour of fruit from the home area.
Sourced from: Dasheri — Wikipedia, Malihabadi Dusseheri Mango — Wikipedia. editorial policy.