The best mangoes in South India, according to farmers who grow them

Sankaran Namboothiri, Palakkad, Kerala

My favorite is a local variety of mango that we called ‘chakkarakodayan’ in our childhood because it was as sweet as chakkara. I enjoyed sucking the juicy pulp of these little mangoes. It is no longer found in the backyards of houses. So I eat another local variety, Moorthy 1, from a forty-year-old tree that I named after our ancestral home, Moorthiyedathu Mana. This fruit, which adapts to local weather conditions, grows in clusters. Each mango weighs approximately 100 grams and its Brix level (sugar content) is 23, which is quite high for a ripe mango.

I have eight native varieties on my 4.5-acre farm, which is home to more than 700 varieties of mangoes and several native trees. Farming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the rural Sreekrishnapuram district of Palakkad, I enjoyed picking and eating the numerous varieties of mangoes in our backyard. At that time, I was dreaming of raising them one day; This dream came true when I became an organic farmer.

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It was heartbreaking to see many native mango varieties in Kerala disappearing over the years. Determined to preserve what was left, I began learning about mangoes and was eventually able to identify the 443 landraces I planted on my farm. I found that each region has its own preferred variant: kottoorkonam in Thiruvananathapuram, karpooram in Kollam and kuttiyattor in Kannur, etc. I managed to collect most of these. I also have 17 of the 22 GI-tagged Indian mangoes, including kuttiyattoor from Kerala. I have Aroor olor from Kozhikode on my list who will get the GI tag soon.

The variety is exciting, from the flavor to the size, weight and shape of the leaves. I have a variety from Tamil Nadu which I call Sree, which produces fruits weighing five kilos each, and another which I call Manjakadukka, which has mangoes weighing only 25 grams.

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Arun Sogathur, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Arun Sogathur | Photo Credit: Special Editing

Although I grow many fruits, my main crop is mango. I have more than 25 varieties on my farms: there are premium hybrids such as Arka ambika, Udaya and suprabhath, as well as Tommy Atkins, which has good color but less striking taste and aroma.

My favorite mangoes are imam pasand and Arka suprabhath (a double hybrid between Amrapali and Arka anmol, with a hard, fibrous pulp) because although each mango is unique in taste, these two varieties remain firm even after ripening.

I also enjoy Appemidi mango, a GI tagged pickle variety native to Karnataka, which has a very good shelf life and a distinctive aroma and taste. Like vadu manga, the whole fruit is put into the pickle without being cut. It is a native variety that has existed for hundreds of years. Native trees in the Shivamogga and Sirsi belts are now being cut down because the trees grow too large, often reaching 200 feet, and the expertise required to harvest their fruits is no longer available. We grow this variety by preserving the height of the tree and making harvest easier.

However, the variety I grow the most is alphonso because that’s what everyone loves!

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A nameless fruit

KS Jaganatha Rajaa, Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu

KS Jaganatha Raja’s farm in Rajapalayam. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY G

I have tasted mangoes from almost every part of India, but the sweetest of them all is sappattai, which grows in the red soil of Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu. I grew up eating mangoes every season since my childhood. The flesh is smooth and juicy, and the juice drips onto your hand.

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My second favorite is Panjavarnam, another variety grown in Rajapalayam and surrounding areas. By grafting, I have revived a few rare varieties native to Virudhunagar district, where my farm is located. This includes Mohandas, potalma, Koşukachi. They all have unique flavor profiles. A variety called Theeyamavadi is crunchy like an apple and is best consumed before it ripens; Another, called karupatti kaai, tastes like palm puree.

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There’s another mango that I’ve been liking lately. It is a variety whose name has not been determined yet. Three years ago, I was called to identify a mango on a tree that was over 40 years old, growing from a mango seed that someone had eaten and thrown away. The fruit of the tree is unique. It is small, sweet and fleshy. The skin is delicate and the meat contains no fibre. The landowners want to grow and market the variety and asked me for help in growing 500 seedlings by grafting.

This will happen over the years and we are currently in the process of sending the fruit to a laboratory to be tested for sucrose percentage. Last year we planted 160 saplings, about 70 of which are alive and growing. We will taste a brand new variety of mango, which will be named when they start bearing fruit.

under the mango tree

Asiya Khan, Chevella, Telangana

Asiya and Azam Khan | Photo Credit: Special Editing

Growing up, our memories of mangoes revolved around spending summer holidays under the tall trees in our backyard. We have grown mangoes of Deccan region like Benishan (Banganapalli), imam pasand, pedda rasalu and chinna rasalu. We would eagerly wait for the ‘tapakna’ (fall) season when the mangoes would be ready for picking. Most of the time we start eating them before they ripen!

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During the summer months of my childhood, it was very common to see mangoes soaking in large buckets. Mangoes are soaked in water to neutralize the ‘heat-producing’ effect and get rid of sticky sap that can cause irritation. My grandmother would check the field for ripe fruits and cover them with straw at home. This was a method he followed like clockwork.

My favorite mangoes will always be imam pasand and Banganpalli. Pedda rasalu is best consumed under the tree, in a messy manner, without anyone disturbing you. We also grow heirloom varieties like panchadhara and swarnarekha at our farm in Chevella in Telangana. Panchadhara is a sweet juicy variety and swarnarekha is a pinkish skinned mango. We want to revive and save our local varieties so that they are not lost to genetically modified varieties.

It was published – 17 June 2026 15:32 IST