Key Highlights
- Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan, a modest farmer from Malihabad, has cultivated a single mango tree bearing 300‑350 distinct varieties.
- The achievement was realized through decades‑long grafting experiments begun in 1957.
- The tree, now over a century old, showcases famed Indian cultivars such as Alphonso, Dasheri, Langra, Kesar and Chaunsa, plus several hybrids named after celebrities.
- His work earned a Padma Shri (2008) and entry in the Limca Book of Records, attracting researchers worldwide.
- The orchard serves as a live laboratory for agronomists seeking to boost crop diversity and resilience.
Detailed Insights
The mango belt of Malihabad, Uttar Pradesh, harbors an extraordinary horticultural marvel: a 125‑year‑old mango tree that produces up to 350 different mango types. The proprietor, Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan, abandoned formal schooling after seventh grade and devoted his life to mango cultivation. Beginning in 1957, he employed the ancient technique of grafting—attaching scions of diverse mango cultivars onto a robust rootstock—to fuse multiple genetic lines onto a single trunk. Over successive seasons, meticulous selection, patience, and iterative experimentation expanded the tree’s varietal repertoire.
Beyond the classic cultivars—Alphonso, Dasheri, Langra, Kesar, Chaunsa—the farmer created unique hybrids and bestowed names such as "Sachin Tendulkar," "Amitabh Bachchan," "Narendra Modi" and "Aishwarya Rai" on several new selections. The tree’s fruit retains individual characteristics of taste, colour, size and aroma, demonstrating that graft compatibility can preserve phenotypic diversity.
The accomplishment garnered national recognition (Padma Shri, 2008) and a record in the Limca Book of Records. International visitors from Iran, the UAE and other nations have studied his methods, seeking to replicate the approach for enhancing biodiversity and yield stability in their own agro‑ecosystems.
Key Concepts
- Grafting: A horticultural practice where a shoot (scion) from one plant is joined to the root system (stock) of another, allowing the two to grow as a single organism.
- Cultivar: A plant variety that has been produced in cultivation by selective breeding and is maintained through propagation.
- Genetic Diversity: The total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, crucial for adaptability and resilience.