Mysuru: Jackfruit Festival concludes with a call to preserve indigenous varieties

Participants and winners of various competitions organized as part of the two-day jackfruit festival that concluded on Sunday (May 17) at Nanjaraj Bahadur Choultry in Mysuru. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The two-day jackfruit festival concluded on Sunday, May 17 at Nanjaraja Bahadur choultry in Mysuru and Deputy Conservator of Forests (Social Forestry) Shankare Gowda urged people to conserve and popularize the native varieties of the fruit.

“Our region of Mysuru is home to diverse varieties of jackfruit and mango. Our forest areas are a treasure house of sour mango trees and other wild mango species. We also find rare varieties of jackfruit here. If we do not preserve them, future generations may not even see these varieties,” he said, stressing the need to identify and find such preserved varieties.

He was speaking after giving away prizes to children who participated in the ‘Na Kandante Halasu’ (Jackfruit Through My Eyes) painting competition organized at the festival under the joint auspices of Sahaj Samrudha, Desi Seeds Producer Company and Department of Horticulture – Kisan Mall.

Manjunath Angadi, deputy director of horticulture, Mysuru, said the Kisan Mall was established in the premises of a horticulture nursery near Kukkarahalli lake for the benefit of farmers and consumers.

“Organic produce, farm implements and bio-inputs will be made available there regularly. Farmers and consumers should make good use of the facility,” he said.

A press statement issued by the organizers here said that the ‘Na Kandante Halasu’ painting competition was organized under the aegis of ICAR-JSS Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

In the 5-9 years category, Moulya S. won the first prize, Rishika Nandi SK took the second prize and Vihaan A. won the third prize. In the 10-12 years category, Adya E. Srivatsa won the first prize, Dheeraj secured the second prize and Gokul Aryan the third prize, the statement said.

In the jackfruit eating competition, Jayalakshmi won the female category while Mohan Kumar SD won the male category. In the jackfruit lifting competition, Ramachandra won the male category and Sumitha won the jackfruit guessing competition in the female category.

Organizers said the two-day jackfruit festival successfully attracted large crowds, with more than 6,000 visitors attending the fair.

“Around 1,000 saplings of red jackfruit varieties like Siddhu and Shankara were sold. Jackfruits brought by growers from different parts of Karnataka witnessed brisk sales. Customers especially rushed to buy the rare red colored variety ‘Chandra Halasu’,” the statement added.

Visitors also enthusiastically purchased value-added jackfruit products. Dasheri and other organic mango varieties have received excellent response from consumers. Business transactions worth nearly ₹30,000 crore were recorded during the two-day event, the organizers said in a statement.

Meanwhile, arrangements have been made to continue selling mangoes and jackfruits at Kisan Mall for the next week for the convenience of customers who could not attend the festival.

Published – 17 May 2026 23:32 IST