Dashehari
Grafted planting material, not true seed. The Malihabad (Lucknow) variety defining north Indian mango — aroma sells it, alternate bearing is the trade-off.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Mango
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- 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
- Disease resistance
- Moderate — susceptible to powdery mildew and prone to alternate bearing
- 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.
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Dashehari is a landrace mango discovered in the 1700s near Dasheri village in Malihabad's Kakori block, Lucknow district. The origin story both articles repeat runs like this. 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. He then grafted it onto other local trees, one of the earliest recorded cases of mango grafting. 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. Within its notified home tract the variety is legally 'Malihabadi Dusseheri'. It 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. That made 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.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Dashehari if you farm in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana or Bihar and want the aromatic, fibreless mango North India knows best. It keeps well for a mango and sells across a wide domestic and export network. A full-bearing tree gives 80–100 kg from year 10 onwards. Accept two weaknesses: alternate bearing, and moderate susceptibility to powdery mildew. Fruit from outside the Malihabad area can be sold as Dashehari but will not match the GI-area fruit. Choose Amrapali for a steadier yearly crop in a dense orchard.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timePlanting runs July to December (TNAU)
- Spacing7–10 m either way for a conventional orchard. High density at 5 x 5 m, 400 trees per hectare, is an option, but a vigorous north Indian variety fills that space fast and will need regular pruning to stay in it (TNAU figures)
- Sowing methodDig pits of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m and fill with topsoil mixed with 10 kg farmyard manure. Plant the graft with the earth ball intact and the graft union 15 cm above ground level, then stake it
- IrrigationWater regularly till establishment, then weekly under conventional irrigation; micro-irrigation needs roughly one-third as much
- Fertilizer10 kg farmyard manure with 0.2 kg each of N, P and K per tree in the first year, the same added each year. From the sixth year it reaches 50 kg manure with 1.0 kg N, 1.0 kg P and 1.5 kg K. Spread it in September–October, from 45 cm away from the trunk out to the drip line (TNAU)
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Red loamy soil with good drainage
- pH
- 6.5–8.0
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
- Dashehari shows moderate susceptibility to powdery mildew and an alternate-bearing habit, which is common in old grafted mango varieties generally.
- 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
The on-year and off-year problem
Dashehari is prone to alternate bearing: a heavy crop one year and almost nothing the next. The tree spends itself on the heavy crop and has nothing left to build next season's flowering shoots, so the cycle repeats on its own once it starts.
You cannot switch it off, but you can soften it. In the on-year, do not let the tree carry every fruit it sets and harvest on time rather than late, so it is not exhausted into the autumn. Feed and water the tree straight after harvest, which is when next year's shoots are made, and keep the canopy open with light pruning. In the off-year, keep the orchard in good health instead of neglecting it. Watch powdery mildew at flowering, since a mildew-hit bloom turns even an on-year into a poor one, and ask your KVK which spray is cleared for the flowering stage. If the cycle is costing you too much, Amrapali bears more regularly.
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 Mango variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphonso (Hapus) | Premium price on the Konkan coast, not volume | Bearing from year 4–5 (grafted plant) | 40–60 kg/tree at full bearing — lower than Dashehari, priced well above it | Maharashtra, Gujarat |
| Amrapali | High-density orchards and steady yearly fruiting | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant, dwarf habit) | 60–80 kg/tree at full bearing — more trees fit per acre than Dashehari | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi |
| Banganapalli | Large, fibreless table mango that stores well | Mid-season | Very high | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu |
| Dasheharithis page | Aromatic North Indian table mango with good keeping quality | Bearing from year 4–5 (grafted plant); 60–90 days fruit maturation after flowering | 80–100 kg/tree at full bearing (year 10+) | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar |
| Kesar | Very sweet saffron-pulp mango for export and pulp | Mid-season | High | Gujarat |
| Langra | Mid-season green-skinned mango with rich aroma | Mid-season | High | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, Punjab |
| Totapuri | Pulp and juice processing, not fresh eating | Mid-season | Very high | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
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 Mango is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Mango plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Mango variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Mango 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 Mango rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Mango seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
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.
Dashehari or Amrapali: which should I plant?
Dashehari has larger fruit, richer aroma and better shelf life, but it tends to bear in alternate years. Amrapali is dwarf, fruits every year and fits more trees per acre, but its fruit is small and spoils sooner. Pick Dashehari for aroma and storage. Pick Amrapali for a steady, dense orchard.
How long before a Dashehari tree gives a full crop?
A grafted Dashehari plant starts bearing from year 4–5. Full bearing, about 80–100 kg per tree, comes from year 10 onwards. After flowering, the fruit takes 60–90 days to mature.
Does Dashehari get powdery mildew?
It has moderate susceptibility to powdery mildew, so watch the trees. Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra for a spray schedule that fits your area and season.
When should I plant Dashehari grafts?
July to December (TNAU). In the northern plains an early-monsoon planting gives the graft the longest run before the first cold spell, and it is worth protecting the young tree through its first winter.
How much fruit does a mature Dashehari tree give?
80–100 kg per tree at full bearing, from about year 10, which is the highest per-tree figure among the mangoes compared here. Fruit matures 60–90 days after flowering, so you can set your picking date from the flowering you see.
Sourced from: Dasheri — Wikipedia, Malihabadi Dusseheri Mango — Wikipedia, Mango production guide, TNAU Agritech Portal: planting season, pit size, spacing systems, irrigation and age-wise fertiliser schedule. editorial policy.