Gadchiroli to seek GI tag for unique ‘collector mango’ grown in Sironcha

Nagpur: Gadchiroli is promoting the ‘Collector mango' as the district's own brand of mangoes. The agriculture department in the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli is planning to secure a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for a variety of mango grown in Sironcha, a remote tehsil of the district. It's called the Collector mango.
The story goes that the fruit was introduced to farmers in Gadchiroli by a British-time collector, named Glassford, giving it the name. During the Raj, Gadchiroli was part of the Upper Godavari district, which covered parts of present-day Telangana as well.
The Collector may be among the largest mangoes, with a full-grown fruit weighing up to 2.5kg, say stakeholders. Found in Sironcha taluka, it is grown only by a select number of farmers here. However, the fruit has also found its way to Dubai and Muscat as the word spread through some connoisseurs, say sources.
If it gets the GI tag, only the mango grown in Sironcha can be sold with the name ‘Collector mango'. In 2014, the famed Nagpur orange had also got a GI tag. The idea was mooted by current district collector, Avishyant Panda, assisted by district superintending agriculture officer (DSAO) Preeti Hiralkar. She travelled to Sironcha to inspect the orchard too.
The numbers may not be much, but there is a plan to increase the plantations. "It's only found in Sironcha. The fruit not only grows up to 2.5kg in weight but is also not extremely sweet like other mangoes. Due to its subtle taste, it has been liked by consumers in foreign markets," she said.
Hiralkar said the department is now collecting data about the trees, and a proposal would be submitted to the district planning committee (DPC). Once the approval is obtained, a third-party consultant will be approached. The GI application will be made through a consultant. A detailed study is undertaken before proposing it to the GI registry in Chennai. A group of growers has to be formed through which the proposal is mooted.
Viswasara Kondre, a Collector grower, says that the variety of mango remained neglected over the years. Now, with the district collector's plans to get a GI tag, the growers see some hope. There may be a handful of growers, but the numbers can multiply. Even the number of alphonso trees was very few at one point in time, he says. There is no organised market, but some people who tasted it now come down to Gadchiroli and take the mangoes to the Gulf, said Kondre.