New grape variety promises medicinal juice & additional revenue for farmers

Manjri Medika is set to be released for commercial cultivation in the upcoming season

The Pune-based National Research Centre for Grapes (NRCG) has developed a variety of hybrid grape that is scheduled to be released for commercial cultivation in the upcoming season. Named Manjri Medika, the brand new variety is likely to be one of the few juice varieties cultivated in India. The pure juice variety has a very high concentration of anthocyanin and rich anti-oxidant properties, said S D Sawant, director of NRCG. The normal yield of this variety is around 10-12 tonnes per acre and Medika is more resistant to diseases than the normal table or wine varieties, said Sawant.

“The juice from this grape has medicinal value and extensive research is going on in this field,” he added.
Other than the juice, pomace — the fibrous pulp of grape obtained after extraction of its juice — can be dried and used as a food additive while the seed of the fruit can be used for extraction of oil, said Sawant. The oil is used in the cosmetic industry and can be a source of additional income for farmers. High in medicinal value, the pomace can be used to churn out grape-flavoured confectioneries.

To optimise the commercial cultivation of the fruit, NCRG has tied up with the Nashik-based Sahyadri Farms. Sahyadri Farms has an imported machinery for extraction of juice, which can be preserved for six months without the addition of any preservatives. “They also have facilities for extraction of seed oil and creating a powder from the pomace,” said Sawant.
Vilas Shinde, chairman of Sahyadri Farms, said the firm will work on marketing and brand creation for the grape juice. “It is a new product… this can be another avenue to generate revenues for farmers,” he said.

Along with the traditional table and wine grapes, the juice variety can be also be grown by farmers. “Economics of this variety promises to be better than that of wine grapes,” he said.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More