His family received recognition for his contribution to horticulture with the formal registration of a unique apple variety he discovered — now named ‘Kanwar Majholi Selection-1’. (File Photo)
When Joginder Singh Kanwar, a former teacher and progressive apple grower of Majholi village near Theog, discovered a new variety of apple in 2016, little did he know that his discovery would bring him recognition someday.
Five months after his death, authorities recently communicated to his family about the recognition Kanwar brought to them posthumously. His family received recognition for his contribution to horticulture with the formal registration of a unique apple variety he discovered — now named ‘Kanwar Majholi Selection-1’.
“After nearly six years of rigorous examination and validation, authorities confirmed it as a novel variety and registered it under the name ‘Kanwar Majholi Selection-1,” Dr Dinesh Singh Thakur, Associate Director of Regional Horticulture Research and Training Station (RHRTS), Mashobra, told The Indian Express.
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), New Delhi, has officially registered and denominated the variety ‘Kanwar Majholi Selection-1’, and communicated to his family about it while acknowledging the role of the late orchardist in identifying the rare variant.
“The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), Delhi, has officially denominated the variety as ‘Kanwar Majholi Selection-1’ and sent a communication to the family of late Joginder Singh Kanwar, who had detected an unusual apple variety on a Red Delicious tree in his apple orchard in 2016. Last week, one of the sons of Joginder Singh Kanwar came to us and showed us the communication. We confirmed it from PPV&FRA. It is a rare moment,” Dr Thakur said.
“In 2017, Joginder Singh, who was among the progressive orchardists, had informed us about the unusual apple variant in his orchard of red delicious apple plants. The tree on which the different apple variants had grown was almost 45 to 48 years old. We visited the orchard and found the dark red colour variant really new and quite different from other fruits. We informed the PPV&FRA after examining the variant for a long time till 2020. The PPV&FRA took almost six years and authenticated that the variety was next and named it ‘Kanwar Majholi Selection-1,” Dr Thakur said.
Officials said a research team, including Dr Thakur and Dr Neena Chauhan, conducted a detailed survey in 2017 and identified the anomaly as a whole branch mutation. The team initiated scientific trials by isolating budwood from the mutated limb and grafting it onto dwarfing M9 rootstock to test the stability and quality of the fruit.
The variety was studied extensively over a period of four to five years at Mashobra, located at an altitude of 2,286 metres above the mean sea level. Following prolonged evaluation, the findings were submitted to PPV&FRA in 2020.
Dr Devina Vaidya, Director of Research at Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry (UHF), Nauni, said, “The university took proactive steps to secure the variety under the category of a farmer-developed variety. An application was submitted to PPV&FRA, along with detailed documentation and passport data compiled by scientists from RHRTS Mashobra.”
Congratulating Kanwar’s family and the scientific community, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rajeshwar Singh Chandel described the development as a significant milestone in recognising farmers’ innovations.
“With the consent of Kanwar’s family, the variety is currently undergoing multi-location trials across different agro-climatic zones under the name ‘Kanwar Red’ to assess its wider adaptability and performance,” Chandel further informed.
