Forgotten exotic yellow mandarin calls for renewed interest

• The exotic yellow mandarin introduced from Japan thrives in the agro-climatic conditions of Bandarawela and Rahangala
•  The abandoned tea estates in the area are ideal for the commercial cultivation of the crop

BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

Sri Lanka’s orange and mandarin imports alone recorded 8,135 mt. in 2022, according to Department of Agriculture’s (DOA) statistics. This corresponded to Rs 1.158 Million. The sizable annual expenditure incurred for mandarin imports could be significantly reduced if locally cultivable varieties could be promoted among farmers and potential large scale fruit exporters, Former Director of the Fruit Research and Development Institute, (FRDI) W.D. Lesly tells the Sunday Island. The scientist who had done extensive research on Sri Lanka’s potential for the yellow mandarin, encourages cultivators from areas such as Bandarawela and Rahangala where the crop thrives, to take a renewed interest in it.

Mandarin botanically known as Citrus reticulata is considered to be a distinct species of Citrus genus. The mandarin is smaller and oblate and is sweeter and stronger in taste than the common orange. Mandarins are usually easier to peel and to split into segments than the common orange.

Local exotic yellow mandarin

China is the top mandarin producing country today. Spain, Turkey, Morocco and Japan are also among the other leading mandarin producing countries.

Premium Japanese varieties

In 2006 Lesly who was then a fruit scientist at the FRDI, was sent to Japan for a one-year training in mandarin research. “FRDI had a collaboration with Japan’s Ehime Prefectural International Center (EPIC) and Ehime Fruit Tree Research Station. And as part of this programme, I had the good fortune of getting hands-on-experience in Ehime which the Japanese call the ‘Citrus Kingdom.’ Ehime is Japan’s largest citrus-producing region.”

After completing his training in Japan, Lesly introduced eight premium Japanese varieties of mandarin to Sri Lanka which he trialed in eight different agro-climatic conditions across the island. The varieties were trailed in Horana (where FRDI is located), Angunukolapelessa, Gannoruwa, Seetha Eliya, Bandarawela, Rahangala, Girandurukotte and Monaragala.

After seven years of extensive research which tested the crop’s yield, fruit quality and adaptability, in 2013 three out of the eight varieties were identified as the best to suit the climatic conditions of up country intermediate highlands. “This region is the one that is closest to Japan’s Ehime’s agro-climate in which mandarin thrives. Today Bandarawela and Rahangala which have a cool-dry climate and lie 3,800 ft above sea level, are considered to be the best mandarin-growing regions here at home. This particular environmental condition is essential for turning the fruit peel colour to yellow when ripened and to develop the deep yellow colour and sweetness of the pulp.”

The three exotic varieties which were recommended and released for cultivation by the Varietal Release Committee of the Department of Agriculture are known as Horana-Ehime 1, 2 and 3 in recognition of the FRDI-Ehime collaboration. “In terms of the quality and taste, these three varieties are on par with the yellow mandarins which are imported. We largely import the fruit from Pakistan and India incurring a significant expenditure. In 2022 alone, we have imported 8,135 Mt. of orange and mandarin worth of Rs. 1,158 million.”

W.D Lesly

High yielding crop

Since the release of the three promising high-yielding varieties more than 10 years ago, the interest taken in them by local farmers is still minimal, laments Lesly who calls for renewed interest in this high-yielding crop. Lesly who succeeded in securing funds for the expansion of the crop under Council for Agriculture Research Policy (CARP) and Korea Plant Industries Association (KOPIA) distributed nearly 30,000 plants among farmers under the two schemes. The sales center of seed and planting material development center in Kahagolla and Agriculture Research Station in Rahangala provides planting materials of these mandarin varieties to farmers today.

The crop’s harvesting seasons are from March to April and August to September. “The demand for these varieties are high and the local produce is bought predominantly by supermarkets in the area. The fruit is also seedless and contains a higher quantity of beta-carotene than common mandarins” says Lesly.

Utilizing abandoned tea lands

Although ideally promoted as a monocrop, the yellow mandarin can also be grown along the land borders of large vegetable plots, points out the scientist. “The fruit yields a bumper harvest in prime vegetable-growing areas of the country. Since the farmers prioritize vegetable cultivation in the area, not much importance is still given to this promising crop,” says Lesly who goes onto note that abandoned tea lands of up country intermediate zone are ideal for commercial cultivation of the crop and calls upon fruit growers to come forward to invest in it.