Farmers Turn Risk into Reward as Early Kesar Mango Blooms Promise Better Incomes

At dawn, Marathwada’s Kesar mango orchards look almost unreal. Branches sag under the weight of fresh blossoms. The air carries a faint sweetness, alive with the hum of bees and the flutter of insects moving from flower to flower. For farmers who have watched these trees through years of drought, heatwaves, and uncertainty, this quiet abundance feels like a long-held breath finally released.

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This season, the region is witnessing one of its most remarkable flowering events in recent memory. The famed Kesar mango orchards have bloomed early, uniformly, and abundantly — setting the stage for a harvest nearly a month ahead of schedule. What appears at first glance to be a beautiful spectacle is also a signal of something deeper: resilience paying off.

This is more than a bumper crop story. It is about how Marathwada’s farmers are navigating uncertainty, turning resilience into opportunity, and positioning their produce as a branding triumph in Indian horticulture. With strong demand across the USA, UK, Japan, and the Gulf, the early bloom offers lessons in adaptive agriculture while underscoring the power of regional identity in driving global success.

Blossoms that spark hope

Mango flowers are small, yellowish or pink-red, clustered in drooping panicles. Though hermaphroditic, cross-pollination by bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, flies, beetles, and ants ensures better fruit set. 

Blossoms symbolise abundance and hope: millions appear, yet less than one per cent mature into fruit. Their dazzling display feels like fireworks, each bloom holding the promise of a juicy mango.

Good harvest ahead

Mango trees are monoecious, bearing both male and hermaphroditic flowers — about a quarter are male. Flowering usually occurs once per season, near the end of winter, with cool nights and dry weather favouring bloom. Extreme cold, wind, or rain can cause flowers to die or drop, and trees naturally abort most blossoms to conserve energy.

Kesar mango orchards across Marathwada have flowered uniformly this season — with no recurrent blooming — to curb fruit drop and promise a bumper harvest, says Dr Sanjay Patil, officer-in-charge at the Indo-Israel centre of excellence for Kesar mangoes, fruit research station, Aurangabad. 

The Centre supports regional growers through hands-on training in pest-free practices, tree rejuvenation, and export-grade production.

“We are hopeful of a good harvest,” he adds.

From Gujarat to Maharashtra

Kesar mangoes originated in Gujarat’s Girnar foothills, with the first grafts cultivated around 1931 by Wazir Sale Bhai near Junagadh at Laal Dori farm. In 1934, Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khan III named it ‘Kesar’ for its saffron-like orange pulp, cementing its identity as Gir Kesar.

The variety emerged from a seedling or selected graft in Vanthali, Junagadh district, planted across 75 grafts in the unique semi-arid climate of the Girnar hills. This Gujarat terroir — volcanic soil, moderate monsoon, and cool nights — shaped its signature sweetness (18–22 °Brix) and aroma, distinct from later adaptations.

Grafts spread from Gujarat to Marathwada in the early 20th century, evolving under local conditions into the higher-sugar Marathwada Kesar (24 °Brix), which earned its own GI tag in 2016.

While Gujarat’s Gir Kesar received GI protection in 2011, Maharashtra’s version reflects terroir-driven quality gains rather than an independent origin.

Kesar’s deep-rooted trees are well adapted to the hot, dry, and often harsh conditions of inland Maharashtra. The Marathwada region, lying in the rain shadow of the Sahyadri hills, receives moderate and variable rainfall (about 90 cm annually), with long, dry summers and cool winters.

The fruit’s sugars and flavour compounds are developed by the vast diurnal range of winter temperatures, which can reach 38–43°C during the day and drop to around 20°C at night.

Orchard on a barren rocky terrain 

In the heart of Aurangabad’s Sillod taluka lies Mukpadh, a modest village framed by rugged landscapes and the quiet hum of rural life. Just beyond its boundaries sits Ajintha (Ajanta), a settlement whose name instantly evokes the grandeur of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Ajanta Caves, with their timeless rock-cut artistry and echoes of ancient civilisations.

Against this backdrop of history and stone, 67-year-old Ashok Suryavanshi chose to rewrite his own story. On two-and-a-half acres of land dismissed as wasteland — blasted rocky terrain locally calledphodlali khadkali jameen — in 2019, he planted 666 Kesar mango saplings per acre, a total of 1,665 plants.

“People laughed at me and thought I had lost my mind, trying to grow mangoes on such barren ground,” recalls Suryavanshi. “I had to spend heavily to bring in soil from outside and prepare raised beds for the saplings.”

Three years later, his gamble bore fruit — literally. He harvested 3.5 tonnes of mangoes, which he joyfully shared with friends and relatives. Since then, his orchard has consistently yielded 10 to 12 tonnes annually.

“This year, with the excellent flowering, I am hopeful of doubling the harvest,” he adds with pride.

A variety that grows well across soil types

Across Aurangabad and Nanded, growers share similar stories. For many, the sight of uniform flowering was more than a promise of yield — it was reassurance that their gamble on Kesar mangoes, often against harsh terrain and harsher odds, was finally paying off.

Horticulturists opine that Kesar is one mango variety that performs well across soil types, including wasteland.

By April, the first fruits will begin to ripen, and by June, the orchards will be at their peak. For farmers who have endured years of uncertainty, this season feels like a turning point — a reminder that resilience, patience, and favourable weather can transform even the most stubborn land into abundance.

Economic edge: Density, direct sales, doubling output

For farmers, the bottom line matters. Kesar mangoes offer several economic advantages. Thanks to modern planting techniques such as ultra-high-density planting (UHDP), Kesar orchards can accommodate more than 600 trees per acre, compared to 80–100 trees per acre for traditional Hapus orchards. This dramatically increases output per unit area.

“We don’t have exact figures for the total volume of Kesar mangoes produced in Marathwada, since not all of the harvest reaches the mandis. Many orchard owners prefer to sell directly to wholesalers or buyers at the farm itself. The average yield of an orchard is around five tonnes per acre. This year, we expect that figure to nearly double,” says Nandlal Kale, president of the Mahakesar Mango Growers Association.

Founded in 2021, the Association now has over 5,000 members, all Kesar growers from Marathwada. With many farmers in the Konkan region also establishing Kesar orchards, the Association plans to expand its membership to include them as well.

The Marathwada region has substantial Kesar mango plantations, with district-wise acreage such as Nanded (29,329 ha), Aurangabad (21,098 ha), Osmanabad (19,065 ha), and Latur (17,473 ha), contributing to a large total area under cultivation.

Perfect weather sparks bumper hopes

The season has been unusually kind to mango growers. After generous rains that lingered until October, the skies cleared, leaving behind crisp air and steady sunshine. By mid-November, orchards across Marathwada were alive with the first flush of blossoms, and by December, flowering was complete.

Temperatures dipped to nearly 12°C — a rare coolness for the region — and the absence of cloudy days created ideal conditions for abundant flowering.

“It’s been years since we’ve seen such a perfect climate,” notes Dr Bhagwanrao Kapse, an advocate for Kesar mango cultivation and former Director of the Pune-based National Institute of Post-Harvest Technology, who has mentored scores of farmers, horticulturists, and agri-entrepreneurs in Marathwada on best practices in cultivation and marketing.

Kesar’s edge: Flavour, timing, global reach

The region’s hot, dry climate enhances the mango’s saffron-like colour, sweetness, and size, making Marathwada Kesar mangoes highly prized both domestically and internationally. Collectively, individual farmers, associations, and agribusinesses have established Marathwada as a major Kesar mango production and export hub.

Kesar mangoes are known for their intense, natural sweetness with a honey-like flavour. They are generally sweeter than Alphonso and lack its mild acidity or tanginess. Kesar’s sweetness is often described as rich and floral, with a soft, juicy texture that is slightly firmer and sometimes a little grainy compared to Alphonso.

Broader consumer appeal

With the promise of a strong harvest, growers now look ahead to April, when the first fruits will be plucked, and to June, when the season will reach its peak. Kesar mangoes benefit from favourable market timing, arriving just after the Alphonso season to fill a supply gap with a consistently available, more affordable premium mango that helps stabilise farmer incomes.

“While Hapus mangoes are already well established in Maharashtra, the arrival of the Kesar variety offers consumers a new choice. Interestingly, in a recent turn of events, Maharashtra’s Kesar mangoes have entered the Gujarat market, providing competition to local varieties there,” informs Rohan Satish Ursal, a wholesale trader in Pune associated with the century-old family business D B Ursal & Sons.

This year, the mahakesar mango growers association is preparing to ship 15 tonnes of Kesar mangoes to London by sea.

“It’s a pilot initiative involving APEDA in New Delhi, the Central Horticultural Experiment Station in Lucknow, and the export firm KB Export. The process — from harvest to delivery — will take only 25 days, making Maharashtra’s Kesar mangoes more appealing to international buyers. If the trial proves successful, we plan to make it a regular practice,” explains Dr Khapre.

It is a tale of ingenuity against climate volatility and market swings. Kesar secures livelihoods, extending India’s mango mantle beyond Hapus.

As the flowering gives way to fruit and the season moves steadily towards harvest, Marathwada’s orchards stand as proof that agriculture here is no longer only about survival. It is about adaptation — to changing weather, shifting markets, and evolving consumer tastes.

For farmers who once coaxed life out of rocky, unforgiving land, the Kesar mango has become more than a crop. It is a calculated choice, shaped by science, local knowledge, and resilience. Early flowering and uniform blooms have brought optimism, but it is the systems behind them — high-density planting, collective action, and export readiness — that signal lasting change.