Processing

Essentially a prime table fruit, mango pulp is perfectly suited for conversion to juices, nectars, drinks, jams, fruit cheese or to be had by itself or with cream as a superb dessert. It can also be used in puddings, bakery fillings, and fruit meals for children, flavours for food industry, and also to make the most delicious ice cream and yoghurt. While the raw fruits are utilized for products like chutney, pickle, amchoor (mango powder), green mango beverage, etc. ripe ones are used in making pulp, juice, nectar, squash, leather, slices, etc. Major export products include dried and preserved vegetables, mango and other fruit pulp, jams, fruit jellies, canned fruits and vegetables, dehydrated vegetables, frozen fruits, vegetables and pulp, freeze dried products and traditional Indian products like pickles and chutneys.

Processed mangoes enable exporters to serve their markets even during off-season period for fresh mangoes. Ripe mangoes may be frozen whole or peeled, sliced and packed in sugar (1 part sugar to 10 parts mango by weight) and quick-frozen in moisture-proof containers. The diced flesh of ripe mangoes, bathed in sweetened or unsweetened lime juice, to prevent discoloration, can be quick-frozen, as can sweetened ripe or green mango puree. Immature mangoes are often blown down by spring winds. Half-ripe or green mangoes are peeled and sliced as filling for pie, used for jelly, or made into sauce, which, with added milk and egg whites, can be converted into mango sherbet. Green mangoes are peeled, sliced, parboiled, then combined with sugar, salt, various spices and cooked, sometimes with raisins or other fruits, to make chutney; or they may be salted, sun-dried and kept for use in chutney and pickles. Thin slices, seasoned with turmeric, are dried, and sometimes powdered, and used to impart an acid flavour to chutneys, vegetables and soup. Green or ripe mangoes may be used to make relish (Morton, 1987).

Industrial Processing Possibilities

5. Fruit cocktails

6. Dried mango slices

7. Mango wine

8. Glazings

9. Flavoured yoghurt (See Figure 37 Mango yoghurt)

10. Ice cream

Figure 36. Mango Juice.

Figure 37. Mango yoghurt.

Pulping and juicing

A key step for preparation of the above products is pulping, as described below. Flowcharts are included which depict the manufacturing steps for mango products.

1. Fruit selection. Several requirements need to be met:

• Lack of insect infestation














• Lack of mechanical injuries














• Stage of maturity














• Uniform colour and texture














• Minimum soluble solids of 13 ^° Brix














• pH value of 3.5 to 4.0

The receiving area must be clean, well ventilated, and free of insects, rodents or other animals. It is not advisable to hold the fruits too long before processing to avoid spoilage.

2. Washing

The washing pit should be filled with water containing 15 ppm chlorine in order to reduce microbial load and impurities from the fruit. A second washing with clean water is made to eliminate residual chlorine.

3. Blanching

This operation is done to inactivate enzymes, eliminate air inside the fruit tissues, remove off-flavours and aromas, fix fruit colour and soften the tissues for further pulping.

Two methods are currently used to effect blanching: dip in boiling water or direct steam injection. The thermal treatment is applied such that internal fruit temperature reaches 75°C. This usually requires 10 minutes in boiling water, or 6 minutes with steam. Fruit is blanched unpeeled.

4. Peeling and cutting

Pulp is separated from the seed manually with knives made of stainless steel, on a working bench. Mango pieces are placed in clean plastic containers and taken to the pulping machine.

5. Pulping

Mesocarp pieces are passed through a fine mesh to remove undesirable particles. After pulping, a smooth puree is obtained. Recommended mesh size is 0.5 mm. coarser material is separated in the process and disposed properly. The pulp is transferred in containers to the kettle.

6. Thermal treatment

A heat treatment is applied in the kettle to prevent chemical and microbial spoilage. In this treatment the pulp reaches 95 ° C and is held for 10 min. with continuous stirring.

7. Additives

The use of additives is recommended to extend the pulp shelf life. Commonly used additives include 0.39 percent citric acid to decrease pH and prevent microbial growth and enhance effectiveness of preservatives as sodium benzoate (0.5 percent).

To prevent discoloration 0.1 percent ascorbic acid is used as antioxidant. Additives are incorporated to the pulp right before the thermal treatment is finished (ca. 5 min before) by dispersing in hot water or pulp and proper stirring. Final product should have 13 °Brix and pH values between 3.4 to 3.5.

8. Packing

The pulp is packed when hot in plastic containers, sealed immediately and flipped over so the internal part of the lid gets in contact with the hot product. All packing materials must be clean before used.

9. Cooling

Hot containers are cooled with fresh water at the lowest temperature attainable. After cooling, lid closings should be inspected. Finally, containers are cleaned and labels affixed to be sent to a fresh, clean storage place.

Specification of Alphonso Mango Pulp Physical, Chemical and Organoleptic Characteristics.
T.S.S. (° Brix)		Min 16
Acidity (% as citric acid)		Min 0.5
pH		< 4.00
° Brix /Acid Ratio		32
Ascorbic Acid (ppm)		Min 200
Additives		Nil
Pesticide residue		Absent
Colour		Golden yellow
Flavour		Characteristic
Taste		Characteristic
Microbial Characteristics
T.P.C.	CFU/g	< 50
Yeast	CFU/g	< 50
Mould	CFU/g	< 10
Source: Agafruits (2000) Average composition of pulp (100/g)
Edible Portion	(%)	74.00
Moisture	(g)	81 .00
Protein	(g)	0.60
Fat	(g)	0.60
Minerals	(g)	0.40
Fibre	(g)	0.30
Carbohydrates	(g)	16.90
Energy	(Kcal)	74.00
Calcium	(mg)	16.00
Phosphorus	(mg)	18.00
Iron	(mg)	1 .60
Vitamin C	(mg)	20.00
Vitamin B complex	(mg)	1.07
Vitamin A	(mg)	2 743

Source: Agafruits (2000)

Drying

Dryers around the world are using improved methods to make all sorts of new dried fruit products. Many of these make great natural snacks. Mango is delicious as a snack, in a sauce or in a salad. Snacks are packed in transparent plastic bags. (See Figure 38 Tommy Atkins mango stripes) mangoes are dried in the form of pieces, powders, and flakes. Drying procedures such as sun drying, tray drying (See Figure 39 Tray dryer) tunnel dehydration, vacuum drying, osmotic dehydration may be used. Packaged and stored properly, dried mango products are stable and nutritious.

Figure 38. Tommy Atkins mango strips.

One described process involves as pretreatment dipping mango slices for 18 hr (ratio 1:1) in a solution containing 40°Brix sugar, 3 000 ppm SO₂, 0.2 percent ascorbic acid and 1 percent citric acid; this method is described as producing the best dehydrated product. Drying is described using an electric cabinet through flow dryer operated at 60°C. The product showed no browning after 1 year of storage.

Figure 39. Tray dryer.

Fresh-cut Mangoes

Mangoes could be an attractive addition to the growing market for fresh-cut produce, but browning and drying have prevented such marketing. Researchers at the USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory found that fresh-cut mangoes could be preserved by treating the slices with a combination of hexylresorcinol, isoascorbic acid and potassium sorbate (all food-safe compounds derived from natural products) and storing the slices in plastic containers to prevent drying. Treating whole fruits with methyl jasmonate (an inexpensive product derived from plant essential oils) prevented the development of chilling injury during cold storage and hence markedly increased fruit quality after storage. The treatment worked on fruits at various stages of maturity and had no effect on ripening, softening processes or water loss.

Canning

Canned mangoes do not have to meet any specific standards, but CODEX Alimentarius (Latin, meaning Food Law or Code, UN Commission for Food Standards) is developing international standards. In general, mangoes are processed in cans or in glass jars. FDA requires nutritional facts written on containers. Mangoes are the common product name of the canned food that is made from properly prepared fresh mango varieties, that have the peel (rind), stems and pits (stones) removed; shall be packed in a packing medium consisting of water, with or without a sweetening ingredient, or natural reconstituted, concentrated fruit juice or juices, or fruit puree or nectar, with or without a sweetening ingredient; and may contain: pectin, a suitable acid ingredient, calcium-based firming agents, and beta-carotene.

Styles. The styles of mangoes are: halves, if the mango is cut into two approximately equal parts along the pit or stone from stem to apex; slices, if the mango is cut into long, slender pieces either lengthwise or crosswise; diced, if the mango is cut into approximately cube-shaped pieces with at least 12 millimetres on the longest side; and pieces, mixed pieces or irregular pieces, if the mango is cut into pieces of irregular shape and size.

Quality Standards: have a colour that is typical of the variety; have a characteristic flavour and aroma of properly prepared, properly processed canned mangoes; in the case of “slices” style, these shall be reasonably uniform in size, and in the case of “halves” style, have at least 90 per cent by count of the units approximately the same size; in the case of “halves” and “slices” styles, shall not have more than 20 per cent of the units cut other than parallel to the crease, and not have more than half of those units cut horizontally; have units that are reasonably fleshy with little objectionable fibre, and not excessively soft or excessively firm, and in a 500 g sample of the drained product, not contain more than: six square centimetres in the aggregate of rind, one-eighth of a stone equivalent of pit material, and one piece of harmless extraneous plant material not greater than 10 millimetres in any dimension; and not have more than 30 per cent by count of units that: are blemished by discolouration or dark spots on the surface or that penetrate into the flesh, or in the case of “halves” and “slices” styles, have trim damage with gouges in the units serious enough to detract from the appearance of the product, and five per cent by drained weight of units that are crushed and severed into two or more parts or have lost their normal shape. Mangoes, when properly packed, shall have a minimum drained weight that is not less than 55 per cent of the weight of distilled water at 20°C that the sealed container will hold when full. Varieties most suited for canning include Creole, Mora, Filipino, Irwin and Haden.

The growing market demands both domestic and export for organically grown fruits and vegetables compel us to learn to grow ORGANIC MANGO. This is a simple and basic study to help mango growers produce naturally grown mango free from toxic chemical residue, using both herbal organic concentrates and biotechnology with integrated pest management.

• Mango (Mangifera indica) is the national fruit of the Philippines.
• It has a wide market potential both domestic and international exports.
• It is a high value crop where mango grower can earn from P100,000.00 to P500,000.00 per hectare per year, provided planted at the right distance of 20×20 m+1, with a population of 50 hills per hectare and properly cared.
• It is suitable on upland areas with abundant sunlight and adequate moisture.
• Mango is a centennial crop that three or more family generation can benefit.
• It is a good retirement insurance crop where production increase as trees grow bigger and older.

Mango Production

Estimated production 50 trees per hectare. (Planting distance: 20 x 20 +1)

Mango is a high value and big earner crop, compared to traditional crops like rice, corn, coconut and sugarcane where income ranges only from P15,000.00 to P60,000.00 per hectare per year. This is why most farmers growing traditional crops remain poor. Mango can easily give P100,000.00 to P300,000.00 per hectare per year with trees 10 to 20 years old.

It is very important to plant the Philippine Golden Mango (carabao variety) at a distance of no less than 15 meters apart since by nature it is a big tree. It can only give its optimum or maximum productivity if its natural environment is favorable to its natural habitat. GENSAFCO recommends planting at 20 x 20 meters + 1 hill at the center of four trees or square forming a quincunx layout. This will have a population of 50 trees per hectare.

MANGO PRODUCTS

The following are primary commercial mango products:
• Fresh table fruit, ripe and green.
• Dried or dehydrated ripe mango fruit.
• Mango Puree, concentrate, nectar and juices.

Secondary mango products:
• Mango fruit preserves in syrup, salted or fermented.
• Chilled fresh mango fruits. (Frozen fresh halves)
• Green mango pickle (Burong mangga)
• Powdered mango (green and ripe)

Other mango products and by-products:
• Mango seeds for nursery planting materials.
• Mango seeds and shell for feeds
• Mango peel. seeds, leaves, branches for organic fertilizer.
• Mango wood for lumber and furniture making and fruit boxes..
• Specialize fruit, leaves and plant extract for drugs and medicine.
• Other products under development.

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS IDEAL FOR MANGO

Mango is a tropical tree. It can grow in most landmasses along and near the equator/ Mango can be grown in almost all regions of the Philippines, but they are found to be more productive if grown in the following environmental conditions:

1. Elevation within 600 meters from sea level up to 800 meters is still tolerable.
2. Mangoes need a dry period of 3 to 5 months to induce maturity of vegetative parts and flower. Fruit development also needs plenty of sunlight up to 120 -135 days after flower induction. Mango are biennial bearer, fruits every two years.
3. The ideal temperature for mango growing is 21degree C to 27degreeC.
4. Soils preferred are deep loamy, rich in organic matter, with balance content of macro and micro nutrient elements.
5. Water requirement: The land is slightly sloping, well drain but with good moisture holding capacity. Optimum moisture or water supply for mango is very important.
6. Soil pH of 6 to 7 is ideal for mango. It is at this level, nutrients are available.
7. Topography of the land ranges from flat to rolling not exceeding 45 degrees gradient. Stiff mountainsides are also planted to mango, but with difficulty in production management.
8. Mango needs plenty of sunlight. Fully grown mango trees should have enough sunlight from morning to evening, at the top of its crown to base of trunk. Shading even partially will limit its productivity. Crowded branch and foliage reduce yield.
9. Moderate airflow or wind is needed by mango trees to allow aeration to prevent the buildup of pest and diseases within the tree crown. Avoid strong winds especially during flowering and fruiting stage by growing windbreaker trees.

ESTALISHMENT OF MANGO ORCHARD

A few pointers in establishing a good productive mango orchard:

1. Look for the ideal site of a mango farm base on the cultural requirement ideal for mango. Most sunny areas with good soil moisture in the Philippines are suitable.
2. Select carefully your planting materials. Be sure you get the right variety and strain the market demands. Grafted seedlings are recommended to have uniform tree production. The Philippine Golden (carabao – Lamao selection) variety is preferred.
3. The farm should be accessible with good roads and abundant water supply for irrigation and spraying.
4. Clear field of all trees and structure that will shed the trees to allow full sunshine and free airflow. Set rows at east-west orientation. Better plant them on triangle layout.
5. Layout the farm and trees with access in-farm roads, farm house, working shed, water system and other farm structures.
6. Recommended planting distance is 20 x 20 + 1 meters quincunx with 50 trees population per hectare. The center hill may be eliminated when trees become bigger and crowded at 20 to 30 years old.
7. Weed, cultivate, fertilize and irrigate your trees regularly every 3 months. Combine organic and chemical fertilizers for faster and healthy growth. Use farm compost.

For orchards devoted to grow organic fruits; natural farming practices using organic and biological farm practices, without chemical inputs may be adopted. There is a growing market demand for organically grown fruits including mango.

Plant Propagation
Methods of Propagation
b. Sexual propagation with seeds. The trees grow big and productive in 7-15 years. However, fruits may not be the same with genetic variations.
c. Asexual propagation – grafting. Trees start bearing as early as 3–5 years. They produce more uniform true to type fruits, coming from the same mother tree.

Field Planting
Steps in Field Planting:
1. Propagate and harden the seedlings or planting materials. Expose to direct sunlight at least one week before field planting. Spray or drench with herbal pesticide. (HOC).
2. Clear the field, plow and harrow if possible.
3. Stake planting site 20 x 20 + 1m quincunx or 15 x 15m triangle to have 50 hills / ha..
4. Dig 1 cubic meter holes and replace the soil with rich/fertile topsoil and fully decomposed organic matter or organic fertilizer. Earthworm casting or is ideal mix to topsoil. Fully decomposed animal and plant waste with beneficial bacteria and fungi.
5. Planting procedure:
a. Drench the seedling in plastic bag and press the soil to loosen it in the bag.
b. Make a hole and pour in water to drench the soil.
c. Gently remove seedling from plastic bag and place in hole, cover and press soil.
d. Place a stake firmly besides the seedling and if needed tie the seedling to it.

CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF BEARING TREES

The health, vigor and size of the mango trees determine its productivity. Even if the Philippine Golden mango is biennial in nature, it can be made to bear yearly or more often if the right cultural management is done.

1. Fence and secure the area from stray animals and intruders that may damage the plants. Security is most needed 30 days up to harvest.

2. Practice clean culture. Cultivate and weed regularly. Remove all trees and shrubs that serve as host to insect pest and diseases.

3. The trees should not shed one another. Prune off overcrowded branches. Mango is a terminal bearer, so avoid pruning off healthy terminal fruiting shoot buds.

4. Irrigate and keep the soil moist most at all times. Less water or drier soil is preferred one month before flower induction and one month before harvest. Avoid water logging by providing suitable drainage.

5. Fertilize quarterly with abundant organic fertilizer with macro and trace mineral elements. Spray herbal organic concentrate fertilizer on leaves and fruits when growth and fruit development needs supplemental nutrition.

Essential Plant Food Elements

Kinds of Organic Fertilizers:

a. Foliar organic fertilizers derived from fermented animal of plants like fish and fruit amino acid.
b. Decomposed animal waste mixed with plant residues with beneficial microorganisms.
c. Vermin-compost or earthworm casting fed with decomposing organic materials. One of the rich form of organic fertilizer with humic acid, a growth promoting and beneficial microorganisms.
d. Sludge or liquid organic waste materials rich in plant food nutrient with beneficial microorganisms.
e. Green manure. These are young plants usually legumes or beans that are plowed under and mixed with the soil during flowering stage.
f. Soil and seed inoculate such as nitrogen fixing bacteria and other microorganisms that help decompose organic materials.

6. Control pest and diseases. Spray herbal organic insecticides and fungicides. Spray during
a. Flushing of young leaves,
b. Before flower induction,
c. At bud break and flower elongation,
d. During fruit formation and development
e. Before bagging and
f. One month before harvest.
Spray the entire tree, leaves, branches, stem and the ground surrounding the trunk. Note that most pest and diseases come from the soil surrounding the tree.

7. Use biological controls to control insect pest and diseases are preferred.
(Birds, animals, insects, bacteria, fungi and other living organisms that help control pests)
a. Use of insect predators and parasites like trichogramma, braconids and pirate bugs to counter insect pests.
b. Use of microorganisms such as beneficial bacteria and fungi to counter diseases and insect pests.
c. Allow bio-diversity and balance ecosystem in the farm by maintaining green belts or mini forest to shelter and provide breeding and favorable environment for all types of living organisms that will balance and prevent the breakout of infestation of one or more pests.

8. Natural Flower induction:
While Potassium Nitrate and other chemicals are now available in the market to induce flowering and fruiting, still there are natural ways of flower induction and fruiting. Among them are the following:
a. Seasonal fruiting. These occur when the trees are healthy and the season for flowering and fruiting comes usually from November to March at the start of dry season.
b. Smoking tree foliage when they reach maturity.
c. Root pruning and partial girdling will also induce flowering and fruiting as these are forms of stresses.
d. Application of high dosage of Phosphorous and Potash fertilizer with adequate micro-nutrients will also hasten flowering and fruiting.

9. Care and management of flowers and fruit development.
As soon as the fruiting buds start breaking (Bud Break) adult insect pests hibernating or just waiting for new vegetative growth will be attracted to the bud and start laying eggs on them and the growing inflorescence.
Some control measures:
a. Sanitize the tree by spray and drenching the whole tree (soil, trunk, branches and leaves) with Herbal Organic Concentrate (HOC-4n1) with four properties (Pest repellant, insecticide, fungicide and foliar fertilizer) on a weekly interval starting with flower induction to fruit development. Spray after the rain.
b. Remove all disease and infested parts of the tree, weeds and debris.

IMPROVE CULTURAL MANAGEMENT & REJUVINATION

SANITATION – PRUNING – WEEDING & CULTIVATION

SOIL FERTILIZATION (ORGANIC FERTILIZER)

IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE

LEAF INDUCTION – FLUSHING (HOC + FAA)

IPM (SANITATION, HOC & BIOCON)

FLOWER MANAGEMENT

FLOWER INDUCTION (KNO3)

IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE

FOLIAR FERTILIZATION (HOC-4n1 + FAA)

ENHANCE POLLINATION (Attract Pollinators)

FRUIT MANAGEMENT

IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE

FOLIAR FERTILIZATION (HOC-4n1 + FAA)

IPM (BIOCON + HOC + Bagging)

PROPER HARVESTING

PROPER POST HARVEST HANDLINF & TREATMENT

PACKAGING & MARKETING

ON SEASON MANGO PRODUCTION

The regular season for mango is flowering from November to February and harvest from March to June. This is during the summer months. The Philippine Golden carabao mango is a biennial bearer. This means that by it’s nature it bears a good harvest every two years, but may bear every year too if conditions are favorable such as the general health of the tree and summer intensity of the weather condition.

Understanding the natural laws governing the growth and production of mango will help us growers maintain their health and productivity through the years. The rainy or wet season will allow the tree to grow, rejuvenate and store food nutrients for its fruiting stage during the summer months where flowering and fruiting naturally occur.

OFF-SEASON MANGO PRODUCTION

Mango growers can produce mango fruits during the off-season especially in Mindanao, being outside the typhoon belt. Other areas of the country with less expected typhoon and heavy rains might venture into producing off-season fruits as the supply is low, demand is high and price is good.

Producing mango during off-season has its own unique challenges. Production falls during the rainy season. This will require a special care and cultural management. Be ready to spray herbal fungicide every after rain during flowering and early fruit development to prevent fungal infection and dropping.

1. Follow a one-year cycle of eight (8) months rejuvenation (from harvest to flower induction) and four (4) months of production (from flower induction to harvest.) Remember, plants also need time to absorb plant nutrients from soil, water and atmosphere, carry them to the leaves for photosynthesis, then transport cooked nutrient to different parts of the plant for food storage and utilization for growth, flowering and fruiting.

2. The secret of success and productivity lies in proper rejuvenation of the trees immediately after harvest up to induction and care of flowers and fruits to full maturity.

3. After harvest by pruning, fertilization with high nitrogen and irrigating immediately to induce new flushing. After 4 months cultivate around the trunk under cover of canopy to partially root prune and fertilize with high potash to induce maturity will make the tree ready for flower induction 2 to 4 months hence. This will effectively prevent new flushing, make the tree dormant and store nutrients for flowering and fruiting.

FLOWER INDUCTION

Mango trees flower and fruit when it is healthy and ready to fruit. Stress will help induce flowering during dry season for it’s seasonal bearing However flower can be induced by smoking, partial girdling branch stretching or other mechanical or chemical treatments. Chemical flower induction by using Potassium nitrate (KNO3) was introduced by Dr. Ramon Barba after his successful research in 1970 at UPLB, College, Laguna, Philippines. A new herbal organic flower Inducer is now being formulated by chemist in Mindanao.

PREPARING THE TREES FOR FLOWERING AND FRUITING.

It is easy to induce the trees to flower, but if the tree is not well prepared, the flowers will just fall off. The tree should be really healthy with adequate nutrient storage to support and sustain flowering and fruit development up to full maturity and harvest.

Here are a few pointers to remember and adopt:

1. Provide enough fertilizer and nutrient to the plant through the soil. Never rely only on foliar fertilization. That is only to augment nutrient needs during the production period (flowering to fruit development). To be sure, apply enough organic fertilizer every 6 months to every tree augmented with chemical fertilizer.

2. Insure that there is adequate soil moisture at all times. Over water is not good.

3. Protect the trees with biological and organic herbal pesticides and fungicides.

4. Induce the trees to flush after harvest to have new shoot for next season fruiting.

5. Two months after flushing when the leaves start maturing, apply fertilizer rich in phosphorous and potash to keep trees maturing and dormant in preparation for next season’s fruiting. Use organic fertilizer with guano and burnt rice hull or ash.

In selecting trees for flower induction, take note of the following:

1. The tree must have full mature leaves and buds. The leaves are crispy; dark-green in color, healthy plum dormant bud tips. At least 8-10 months rejuvenation.

2. The tree and leaves should be dry, with no rain expected within 6 hours from spraying.

3. Trees that fruited the previous season but have not flushed should not be induced to flower. Many contractors and growers who want fast money often violate this practice. To induce the tree to flush, irrigate and fertilize with higher dosage of nitrogen, and or spray the leaves with half dose of Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) mixed with foliar fertilizer.

4. Spraying and drenching the whole plant from the base of trunk to branches and leaves with foliar fertilizer rich in amino acid or other organic weak acid and containing micro-nutrient elements will help induce flushing. The use of Herbal Organic Concentrate (HOC) and homemade lime sulfur have been found to induce new vegetative growth.

CONDITIONS IN USING CHEMICAL FLOWER – INDUCERS

OTHER INDICATIONS

1. Check on the fruiting buds’ readiness. The buds are slightly rounded and mature or dormant, ready to flower. .
2. If the buds are flattening with small dormant buds at the sides, they are most likely new flushing buds for vegetative growth for next season’s fruiting.
3. The soil and the trees are dry. If it rained the previous days and the atmosphere is humid, induction may result to flushing or flowering with flushing.
4. Choose to induce during dry hot months or dry days. Flower induction up to 45 days during the early fruit formation are the most critical period where the flowers and young fruits are susceptible to infection and infestations.
5. As a general rule, a flowering bud-stick fruits only once. It needs to flush and produce new bud-stick for subsequent fruiting. Mangoes are usually terminal fruiting, but super healthy trees some times flower and fruit from dormant buds of big branches.
6. A mango tree needs enough time at least 8 to 10 months to accumulate and store food nutrients in its system to support flowering and fruiting.
7. Too much flowering as in 90 to 100% of foliage flower are dangerous, since too much energy is released by the plant, and there will not be enough left for fruit development. Usual result is massive dropping and only a few fruits remain or even total crop fall. A 40 to 60% foliage flowering would be ideal to insure full fruit development with bigger and better quality harvest.
8. Water or moisture is very much needed from bud emergence to one month before harvest to insure availability of plant food nutrients. The tree needs dry and sunny days before and during flowering’ and during fruit maturing to one month before harvest to insure full maturing, where fruits do not crack or drop during the final stage up to harvest.

PEST AND DISEASE CONTROL:

Natural farming methods of controlling pest and diseases in growing organic mango: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the use of different practical yet low cost methods:

1. Cultural practices that includes the right planting distance, periodic weeding and cultivation, irrigation and drainage, pruning, spraying, etc. See to it that the water source is not contaminated or carrier of pest and diseases.
2. The use of baits and insect traps (light traps, sweet juice tuba trap).
3. Spraying with herbal organic preparations with pest repellant, insecticide and fungicidal properties (HOC).
4. The use of beneficial microorganisms that control pest and diseases.
5. The use of insect predators, parasites like trichogramma, braconids, and pirate bug.
6. Crop rotation or inter-cropping with plants that will repel or reduce infestation.
7. Schedule and time production during least pest infestation and disease prevalence. There is less insect pest and diseases during summer months.
8. Cultivate and fertilize the soil around the base of the trunk periodically with organic fertilizer derived from herbs with pesticide and fungicidal properties as well as beneficial microorganisms.
9. Remove diseased or infested fruits and vegetative parts of the tree and dispose of them properly such as removing them from the field, burning, bury or composting them for fertilizer. Practice clean culture.

Take note: When spraying trees with herbal organic concentrate (HOC) start with the soil surrounding the trunk, upward around the trunk, branches then the underside of the leaves or foliage and last the top of leaves and crown. Insect pest and diseases comes from the soil and stay in trunk and branch where they hibernate and wait then wake or become active when new growth appears such as flushing and flowering to fruiting.

Remember that when God created the universe, the earth and nature, it was complete and balanced. Man interfered with this balance in the environment and ecosystem for the desire to produce more of their selected and preferred crops, in the process destroying the equilibrium and disrupting natural laws and life. Its ill effects of toxic synthetic chemicals are now being manifested in making the land less productive and the life span of man is shortening. Other life forms are disappearing. It is time for us to learn natural laws and adopt Natural Farming System.

Before 1950 even up to 1970 when potassium nitrate was discovered by Dr. Ramon Barba as an effective flower Inducer for mango, the trees were left alone to nature and bear fruits during season. Mango owners just harvested mango fruits without caring for the trees, just like coconut farmers. Today, as the prices of chemical inputs get too high, mango growers are starting to leave the mango trees to the care of nature. Added to this is the growing demand for chemical free mango or naturally grown fruits.

We are now introducing the use of herbal organic pest and disease control and biological measures. Our latest experience in growing organic mango show that natural farming system is easier to learn by farmers and cost lower.

ONE YEAR CYCLE OF MANGO PRODUCTION, FLOWERING AND FRUIT DEVELOPMENT

FLOWER AND FRUIT PROTECTION
The crucial stage of mango production is the attack of insect pests and diseases at flowering and fruit development stages. Insecticides and fungicides are commonly used, but to obtain good results, the recommended usage and dosage must be followed and control must be directed during the vulnerable stage of insect and disease development (not during the height of destructive infestation and infection). Prevention is better than cure. It is also less expensive and hence, more profitable.

Continues raining during flowering and early fruit development is the most critical condition as Anthracnose fungus disease is prevalent. It will rot the flowers and young fruits and they turn dark and fall off. Every time the rain stops or light drizzle, spray immediately HOC herbal fungicide to wash off the fungus from the flowers and fruit panicles. Do not postpone or delay as the fungus can do damage within a few hours. Shaking the branches to remove water droplets from flowers and young fruits will help for few small trees.

BEST TIME FOR PROTECTIVE CONTROL

(1) Prior to Induction (2 weeks)
(2) Flower Induction (Day 1)
(3) Bud Break (8-12 days)
(4) Prior to bloom (21 days)
(5) After flower set (corn size 40 days)
(6) Before bagging (60-70 days)
(7) Start of maturation (90-100 days).

WRAPPING AND BAGGING FRUITS

Wrapping the individual fruit with newspaper should be done at about 53 to 60 days after induction or just after natural thinning or dropping when the mangoes are about the size of a pullet egg. New observation finds 70–80 DAFI is more practical period to bag, as there will be less fruit drops after bagging and only quality fruits may be bagged.

ADVANTAGES OF FRUIT BAGGING:

1. Bagging can reduce or eliminates the incidence of fruit fly and Capsid bug damage, sunburn and fungal infections.
2. Reduced incidence of mechanical damage while the fruit still hung on the tree and during harvesting and handling operations. It protects fruits from wind scars.
3. The paper serves as absorbent of latex flow during harvest.
4. The fruit skin is cleaner and more attractive light green color.
5. Bagging provides more or less an accurate estimate on the number of fruits per tree. This is important in cases where marketing is done on contract basis, or estimated on the total volume and weight of harvest.

PRE HARVEST PROTECTION

Spraying foliar fertilizer high in potash with trace mineral elements during fruit development will make the fruits sweeter. It will make the peel more flexible and will lessen cracking of fruits during the final stage of maturity, even when humidity rises and rains.

Spraying with herbal organic concentrate or HOC-4n1 will do this. It will also protect the fruits from insect pests and fungal diseases.

Let us not forget that friendly insects, birds and microorganisms are very helpful in reducing the population and incidence of insect pests. Providing favorable natural environment in the orchard for friendly biological organisms will greatly reduce cost of production and good quality fruits.

HARVESTING MANGO

It is very important to keep in mind that the preservation of the superior quality fruit, especially if it is intended for the fresh table use that is critical during the harvest and post harvest period. Harvesting and handling of fruits should be entrusted only to properly trained, preferably experienced workers. It is also advisable for beginners to first observe professional harvesters during harvest operations.

The outmost care in harvesting and handling of mango should be emphasized. Workers and harvesters should first be given a briefing before releasing them to the field. It takes a one-year cycle of care and culture to bring the fruits ready for harvest. It takes less than a second to drop the fruits does and break or bruise does.

Use the right harvesting poles with soft nets to avoid bruising. Use wooden or plastic harvesting crates with clean soft padding. Avoid using banana leaves or other materials that may have fungus diseases that will infect the fruits.

Do not remove fruit bags in the field, as they will serve as cushion and absorbent of latex. They may be removed during grading and classification before washing and hot water treatment.

GUIDE TO HARVESTING MANGO

Maturity of mango fruits ready for harvest.

1. The mango start maturing at 90 days and reach full maturity in 120 to 135 days after flower induction (DAFI). Note: Earlier fruit ripening on tree and dropping may occur in hot arid areas. Delayed maturity occurs in cool humid areas.
2. In hot and dry areas, the fruits tend to ripen earlier, (110 – 115 days). It does not mean that they have reach full physiological maturity (lesser weight and sugar content). In cooler, humid and shady areas, the fruit take more time (135 days) from flower induction to reach full maturity as sunlight may be less. When new flushing comes together with flowering, the fruits likewise take more time to mature (130 DAFI).
3. If the tree flowers naturally, count 85 to 95 days from flower bloom to determine the approximate date of full maturity. Blooming is when flowers open, release odor that attract insect pollinators.
4. One sure test is to get samples randomly picked from the tree and slice the fruits at the apex portion. If the flesh is still white, it is immature, while if it is turning yellow; it is ready for harvest.
5. Floatation checks. Dip the fruit in 1-% salt solution. Seawater may be used. The floaters are immature while those that sink are mature, and ready for harvest. 90% sinkers are ready for harvest.
6. The presence of bloom, or powdery deposit on the surface of the skin is an indication of full physiological maturity.
7. Mature carabao mango fruits have flattened shoulders at the stem end. while immature fruits have slope shoulders with full cheeks.
8. The pedicel of mature fruits turns yellow green in color.
9. Laboratory test may not be practical for field operations. The Titrable Acid of fully mature fruits is less than 45 miliequivalents per 100 grams and the total soluble solids at table ripe is 15% or higher.

HARVESTING METHODS

1. Hand picking is still the best method, but it is difficult and time consuming for large orchards. Using picking poles and ladder is a common practice, especially with commercial mango production and big plantations with big tall trees. Avoid bruising the fruits with the picking pole.
2. To avoid bruises and damage, in handling and transport, trim off the pedicel before packing when latex flow has dried. It is done easily by pulling off horizontally the pedicel and it will just snap at the neck of the pedicel.
3. The best time of the day to harvest is between 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. when the tree and fruits are dry and latex flow is minimal. Latex cause acid burning and brownish discoloration of the skin, which also make it, open to fungal infection. However for large orchard and big harvest, this cannot be followed, as time will be limited to meet scheduled shipments. Fully mature fruits have less latex flow.
4. To reduce or minimize latex flow, leave two to three centimeters pedicel on the fruit when harvesting. Place the fruit in an inverted position with the pedicel down on absorbent paper materials, which are free from disease contamination.
5. Keep the fruit bags until sorting, washing, HWT, drying and packing.

POST HARVEST OPERATIONS
CLASSIFYING

Sorting and classifying occur at the following stages:
1. During harvest
2. During field packing.
3. Before and during washing
4. After HWT just before final packaging for shipment.
Fruits are classified according to size, weight and the general appearance.

KIND OF FRUIT DEFECTS:

1. Deformity – Abnormality in shape affecting fruit appearance.
2. Wind Scar – Dark streaks slightly elevated are attributed to abrasion due to wind.
3. Latex Burn – Brownish black streaks that may be sunken are attributed to aged latex stains.
4. Ugat – Netted appearance at the peel due to the prominent vascular bundles.
5. Insect Damage – Lesions (fresh or healed) due to insect attack.
6. Scab – Patches of fissured corky tissue on the peel.
7. Sooty Mold – Black powdery deposit (mold) concentrated on the shoulders.
8. Balat Kawayan – Unusually, the deep green color of the peel. The affected fruit fails to change color when ripe.
9. Mottling – Blotchy uneven green color, some of it remains even when the fruit is fully ripe.

PROCEDURES IN PRAPARING FRESH FRUITS FOR SHIPMENT:

1. Grade and classify fruits according to size, weight and peal appearance.
2. Wash fruits with clean warm water with detergent or chlorine.
3. Hot Water Treatment. Dip fruits in 52 to 55 degree centigrade water for 10 minutes. There is new innovation to HWT as spraying or dipping fruits for one minute in 60 degrees heated water.
4. Air-dry the fruits to remove all moisture on the peel and allow them to cool off.
5. Pack in clean paper and boxes for shipment or ripening.

See to it that the fruits remain dry in cool ventilated place. Avoid re-contamination of diseases or exposure to pests while in storage or transit.

SORTING

Prior to packing for export, meticulous grading and sorting of mangoes are done based on the degree of cleanliness of the skin, size, weight of the fruit, as small, medium, large, and extra large. Mango exports are graded as either “Fancy” or “Standard” depending on the extent of superficial skin markings. All exports must comply with the strict requirement of sweetness (full maturity of 120 to 135 DAFI -15 – 18 brix), firmness and absence of infestation and infections.

GRADING OF PHILIPPINE MANGO FOR EXPORT

(Based on the draft revision of Standards for Mango of the Bureau of Product Standard)

SOME QUALITY CRITERIA OF IMPORTERS:

1. Physiologically mature. (120-135 DAFI)Sugar content of 15% to 18% brix.
2. Beginning to ripen, with 30 to 50% yellow coloring for Philippine golden Mango or the carabao variety.
3. Significant area of red color on the fruit shoulder for varieties with reddish shine like Florida and some Indian mangoes.
4. Free from disease, decay, sunburn, cracks, bruises, latex stains, insect and mechanical damage. Relatively firm.
5. Conform to the weight and size specification
6. Contained in preferred or specified packing.
7. Underwent pytho-sanitary treatment and quarantine inspection with approval certification.

POST HARVEST TREATMENT

There are several post harvest treatment being employed:

1. Plain warm water washing with 1-% salt solution or detergent and chlorine. Dry fruits after washing as re-infection occur when fruits are moist.

2. Hot Water Treatment (HWT) where fruits are dipped in 52-55 degrees water for 10 minutes. A new innovation dips in 59 to 60 degree water for 30 seconds to one minute. The temperature range should be strictly maintained and monitored to avoid scalding if it rises, and if it drops, may not control the pest and diseases of the fruits. Air-dry immediately after dipping. Adding chlorine to the water helps control diseases

The author designed and fabricated a simple HWT tank made out of one sheet stainless steel plate heated by LPG. Dimension is 20 x 30 inches and 18 inches high. It has a capacity of 2 crates of 20 kilos per crate per loading. The unit can easily be transported to the site of harvest. It cost P8, 000 to P10, 000 per complete unit with stand, gas-stove burner, LPG tank with hose, regulator and thermometer. A bigger stainless steel tank with 6-crate capacity cost P20, 000.00 fabricated by a machine shop in Gen. Santos City.

3. Extended Hot Water Treatment (EHWT) – Dipping the fruit in 46 – 48 degrees Centigrade for 90 minutes. This treatment is practiced in Mexico for mango exported to the USA.

4. Vapor Heat Treatment (VHT) where fruits are subjected to heated vapor until the inner flesh of the fruit reaches 46 degrees for 10 minutes. This treatment is required for mangoes exported to Japan, and Korea. It is non-toxic and non chemical disinfectant.

5. Chemical Treatment – Using fungicide to control fruit rot. Fungicides are dissolved in water where the fruits are dipped. Benomyl (500-1000 PPM) and other suitable fungicides are used.

6. Fumigation with Ethylene dibromide (EDB) at the rate of 16 grams per cubic meter for 2 hours at 25oC is done for mangoes exported to Australia and New Zealand. This will control and destroy the insect eggs in the fruit. The Australian government has now banned the use of EDB. The Philippine government is negotiating to replace it with VHT to control fruit fly. Irradiation seems to be more favored by Australia. This procedure is no longer acceptable.

7. Irradiation – This is a new introduction to access fruits and food preparation to USA and other countries requiring such quarantine procedure. Many consumers are critical with this procedure

These treatments tend to control fruit born diseases like Anthracnose and Stem End Rot as well as kill insect eggs like Fruit Fly. Be sure to fully dry the fruits after treatment, before packing because wet and moist fruits are easily re-infected by fungal rot diseases.

STEPS IN HOT WATER TREATMENT

1. Heat water up to 55*C and maintain the temperature range at 52-55*C during operations. A 59-60 degrees for fast treatment.
2. Place mango in perforated plastic crate or basket that fits into the hot water tank to maximize the number of fruits that can be treated in one dipping. In the absence of plastic crate, any other suitable containers that will not cause bruises on the fruits may be used. This will also avoid direct contact of the fruits with the hot metal bottom of the tank that can cause heat injuries or scalding.
3. Dip the mango into the hot water submerged for 5 to 10 minutes, checking the temperature is between 52-55*C. A faster procedure is 30 to 60 seconds dipping in 59 to 60 degrees water. It is advisable to move the crates now and then to equalize the heat and help remove the dirt from the fruits.
4. Use electric fan to hasten fruit drying. When fully dried, sort them and pack carefully into fruit boxes or crates for storage or shipment to the market.
5. Some buyers do not want chemically treated fruits, so HWT or VHT are done without using fungicide of chemicals.

The above operations should be done within 4 to 8 hours after harvest. It is even preferable for small quantity harvest to do the whole operation right in the field or farm. The best time is treat fruits within 4 hour of picking while latex is still wet.
Harvested mangoes should never be exposed to direct sunlight, wind, rain and other contaminants, either in the farm or during transport to the processing plant and packaging site. If this cannot be avoided, thorough washing and hot water treatment should be done and completely dried and packed avoiding re-contamination.

PACKAGING OPERATIONS

Packaging consists of three stages.

1. Packing from field harvest to processing or packaging house.
2. Packing of fresh fruits for domestic and export market.
3. Packing of processed fruit products.

PACKING HOUSE FACITILTIES AND EQUIPMENT

A packing house is basically a building with shed and open sides, preferably high roofing and elevated cement flooring with good drainage, aeration and lighting. It should have adequate floor area to accommodate the equipment, working space and storage space. There should also be a provision to shed vehicles loading and unloading fruits during rains and inclement weather. The perimeter area of the packinghouse should be well secured from stray animals and vandals.

FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT NEEDED

Plastic Fruit crates for field howling. 6. Dripping stand
1. Sorting area or tables. 7. Air drier or blower (fans)
2. Washing tanks or basin. 8. Grading and packing tables
3. Plastic Fruit crates for HWT 9. Weighing scales
4. Hot water tank: 10. Pack-Strapping equipment
a. Stainless steel water tank. 11. Fruit cartoons and/or boxes
b. Electric water heater 12. Hand carts
c. Thermostat and thermometer 13. Storage area
d. Gas stove with regulator and gas tank. 14. Loading area
5. Boiler and water pump with piping. 15. Conveyor system

FRUIT CONTAINERS

 
Assuming one hectare produces 50,000 kilos per season and packed in 10 kilo crates or boxes, this will require 5,000 boxes per hectare every year.

1. BAMBOO AND RATTAN BASKETS – “Kaing or Bukag” with a load capacity of 30 to 70 kilos are commonly used by farmers and mango traders. Bruising and mechanical injuries can be minimized with the use of liners, wooden support planks on vehicles during transport.
2. Hard Plastic or Fiberboard Cartoons – These cartons have a capacity of 12 – 20 kilos. They are used for transporting mango from the field to the packinghouse.
3. Containers of Utility – Some traders and mango exporters provide contractors and farmers with returnable plastic crates. Others provide cartons that are use to pack fruits for direct market delivery.
4. Wooden crates – Commercial mango growers are also advised to grow fast growing trees like G’melina, Neem, Bagrass, Falcata and even big bamboo variety for fruit crates and box manufacture to provide packaging materials.

GRADING OF PHILIPPINE MANGO FOR EXPORT

STORAGE
Newly harvested, washed and Hot Water Treated mangoes may be stored for 7 days at 15*C. Do not store mangoes below 12.5*C, as this will cause chilling injuries. Ripening mangoes can have another 14 days shelf life. Mangoes for processing may be stored for 21 days in temperature ranging from 1*C to 5*C. Buyers and contractors prefer to harvest green mangoes 100 to 110 days from flower induction as these have longer shelf life than those harvested at 115 to 120 DAFI. However mangoes harvested before 120 days have not reach full maturity, and their sugar content much lower, affecting quality of fruits when ripe. Mangoes harvested when they are fully mature are sweeter with superior eating quality but have a shorter shelf life.

RIPENING OF FRUITS
Mango fruits may be ripening in the following manner:
1. The natural way. After the hot water treatment and air-drying, place fruits in clean plastic or wooden crates and store them in a ripening room well sealed so as not to allow entry of moisture and infection. Well mature fruits ripen in 4 to 6 days. The shelf life may extend from 5 to 12 days.
2. Use of carbide. Place a tablespoon of carbide wrap in paper at the bottom of the ripening basket or crate. The container is well padded with paper to be airtight. Place the fruits until filled and cover to secure the fruits is totally sealed. After four (4) days they may be open for aeration and display. Note that the shelf life of this method of ripening is only 3 to 4 days.
3. Use of ethylene. Fruits are sprayed or dip in ethylene solution, air dried and stored in the ripening room. Fruits ripen in 3 to 4 days.
4. Ripening mango with madre de cacao leaves. Pack the fruit in container with fresh semi dried leaves and close airtight. After 4 to 5 days fruits can be taken out and exposed to air and continue ripening.

MANGO TRADING

Mango trading is the last step in the mango industry. This is where the money is. Most growers give little attention to this stage of the mango industry, and the traders who come to them make the most profit. It is suggested that mango growers form their own marketing group even only at their community level, consolidating the fruits and deal with regular traders and exporters on a more stable and long range agreements.

MARKETING CHANNELS:
1. From the farm traders and consolidators buy directly from growers. Other buyers even do the harvesting. Harvesting is the responsibility of the growers.
2. Where there are buying stations, farmers or domestic traders deliver the fruits to the station with packaging facility.
3. Local traders and consolidators also deliver fruits to processors to shipping ports by boat or plane to wholesalers or exporters.
Wholesalers distribute to retailers, sell to exporters and fruit processors.

STAGES OF TRADING:
1. Production of mango fruits.
2. Contract growing.
3. Consolidation of fruits
4. Packaging for domestic and export markets.
5. Processing
a. Fresh fruit processing and treatment
b. Fruit processing to other product forms with value added.
6. Whole selling, Distribution
7. Retailing or door to door sales.
a. Ripening
b. Display or direct delivery to customers.

HARVEST AND POST HARVEST FACILITIES:

1. Harvesting tools, equipment from farm to Packaging House
2. Buying Station with Packaging House
a. Packaging equipment for fresh fruits
b. Boxes, containers and accessories
3. Processing Plant
a. Processing facilities (Dehydrated, puree, juices, frozen halves, etc).
b. Packing materials and equipment
4. Storage facilities (dry or cold)
5. Transport and delivery vans

PACKAGING FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT NEEDED

1. Plastic Fruit crates for field howling. 11. Dripping stand
2. Sorting area or tables. 12. Air drier or blower (fans)
3. Washing tanks or basin. 13. Grading and packing tables
4. Plastic Fruit crates for HWT 14. Weighing scales
5. Hot water tank: 15. Pack-Strapping equipment
6. Stainless steel water tank. 16. Fruit cartoons and/or boxes
7. Electric water heater 17. Hand carts
8. Thermostat and thermometer 18. Storage area
9. Gas stove with regulator and gas tank. 19. Loading area
10. Boiler and water pump with piping. 20. Conveyor system

PHILIPPINE MANGO EXPORTERS

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)

The cost of production, productivity and profit vary from farm to farm as the situation and factors affecting the trees and the market change from time to time. Producing mango during off-season is more expensive since more protective spraying during rainy days is required to suppress pest and diseases. However, there are basic fixed costs of production and operational activities that can be fairly estimated on prevailing conditions.

It is very important for mango growers to have and keep record of every farm activity. Every year there should be prepared a farm plan and budget.

An accurate recording of all expenses and revenue are necessary to determine the profit or loss per season or year of farming. This will guide the farmer as to his next year’s operations and activities. To improve or change some of the practices such as the use of indigenous organic and renewable farm inputs as against the conventional farming using imported fertilizers and chemicals.

NURSERY (Seedling Production)

FIELD PLANTING OF TREES

COST OF FIELD CARE OF JUVENILE TREES

PER YEAR UP TO BEARING AGE (1 – 6 YEARS)

MAINTENANCE AND PRODUCTION COST OF BEARING TREES.

MANGO PRODUCTION PER TREE

Note: The above production estimates are pre conditioned, that the planting distance is 15 to 20 meters apart and the tree is allowed to grow to its natural size with minimal pruning growth restrictions. The bigger the tree crown supported by healthy root system penetrating deep and wide, the more production capacity it has. The bigger the main trunk and branches, the more plant food storage capacity the tree has to sustain its yearly production. The more healthy leaves to cook the nutrients absorbed by the roots through the process of photosynthesis, the more food nutrients are stored for vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting.

MARKETING COST PER KILO

MANGO FARM REQUIREMENTS
To have a successful and productive mango orchard, the farm should be provided with the necessary facilities as farm structures, equipment and tools, such as the following:

FARM SATRUCTURES:
1. Farmhouse for farm supervisor and workers quarters.
2. Bodega, storage room, tool room and equipment input supplies and farm produce.
3. Working shed and packinghouse to be used for multiple activities especially during harvest.
4. Water system, with water pump, storage tanks and water distribution lines.
5. In-farm road network to facilitate field operations and access.
6. Fence and other security structures to keep out animals and intruders.
7. Power source (electricity) and communication facilities.
8. Nursery facilities including a greenhouse.
9. Organic fertilizer composting facilities and Bio – microorganism rearing house.

FARM EQUIPMENT

1. Service and transport vehicle.
2. Farm tractor with implement attachments (plow, harrow, trailer, douse, etc.) For small farms, carabao drawn implements will suffice.
3. Mower and cultivator.
4. Generator, water pumps and reservoir.
5. Power sprayer with accessories (drums, pressure hose, sprayer lance and nuzzle, etc.
6. Cart or wheel borrows.
7. Rain gage, thermometer, soil tester.
8. Weighing scales, (1, 10, 60 kilo capacity)
9. Packinghouse with tanks, air blower, and packaging equipment.

FARM TOOLS

1. Bolo, knives and pruning sheers.
2. Shovel, rake and other garden tools.
3. Hammer, saw and other carpentry tools.
4. Harvesting poles, rope crates etc.
5. Hoe, cultivating tools, rake, etc.
6. Other tools that may come for need.

MATERIALS:

1. Fertilizers: Chemical, organic, foliar and soil conditioner.

2. Agricultural Chemicals (Insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, growth regulators, rodenticides, etc.) Chemicals can be replaced with herbal and organic fertilizers and pesticides.

3. Packaging materials, (Plastic crates boxes, cartoon, paper, fruit caps, etc.)

4. Protective clothing and disposable gadgets, gloves, rubber boots, etc.

FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Agriculture is a living science. We find changes and the need for innovation as we progress on our farming venture.

We encourage every mango grower to join Mango Associations in your area, and if possible form your own marketing firm (cooperative, association or corporations) to insure a good market linkage with processors and reputable traders. Attending, seminars, gathering and reading printed mango technology, visiting farms, and conducting your own trials and researches will be very helpful.

Keep a farm record.

We also encourage grower to complete and improve their farm facilities.

Give special attention and time in harvesting. It is during this critical stage where you gain or lose your investments.

If your plantation is bigger than ten (10) hectares, start learning and processing left over (LO) fruits and fruit drops. If you are observant, about 20 % to 30% of the developing fruits drop off, and you can process these into mango pickle and preserves. 10 to 20% of mature harvested fruits are considered leaf over (LO) or rejects by fruit buyers. You can process them to dried, puree, concentrates, powder, candies, preserved and others.

The Department of Science and Technology will be glad to train interested growers how to process their fruits into dried mango, puree, concentrates, chilled halves, candies, preserves, powder, etc. Through your Mango Association DA and DOST including DTI can be invited to help you in your processing, packaging and marketing requirements.

No one is more interested and concern than the owner. So farm owners should take more time in caring, supervising, monitoring and being in the farm. The best fertilizers are the footprints of the owner around his trees and farm.

THE PHILIPPINE GOLDEN MANGO IS A GIFT OF GOD TO THE FILIPINOS. IT IS TRULY A TREE OF LIFE. THOSE THAT GROW AND CARE FOR IT SHALL BE REWARDED WITH ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IN THEIR LIFETIME AND THE GENERATIONS THAT COME AFTER THEM.

Written by: Mr. Rex Rivera

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Mango
Mangifera indica L.

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Description
Origin and Distribution
Varieties
Blooming and Pollination
Climate
Soil
Propagation
Dwarfing
Culture
Harvesting
Yield
Ripening
Keeping Quality and Storage
Pests and Diseases
Food Uses
Toxicity
Other Uses
Related Species
Food Value

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It is a matter of astonishment to many that the luscious mango, Mangifera indica L., one of the most celebrated of tropical fruits, is a member of the family Anacardiaceae–notorious for embracing a number of highly poisonous plants. The extent to which the mango tree shares some of the characteristics of its relatives will be explained further on. The universality of its renown is attested by the wide usage of the name, mango in English and Spanish and, with only slight variations in French (mangot, mangue, manguier), Portuguese (manga, mangueira), and Dutch (manja). In some parts, of Africa, it is called mangou, or mangoro. There are dissimilar terms only in certain tribal dialects.
Source: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Morton/Mango_arS.html

Fig. 59: Some mangoes (Mangifera indica) more or less commonly grown in dooryards of southern Florida in the mid-1940′s.

Description

The mango tree is erect, 30 to 100 ft (roughly 10-30 m) high, with a broad, rounded canopy which may, with age, attain 100 to 125 ft (30-38 m) in width, or a more upright, oval, relatively slender crown. In deep soil, the taproot descends to a depth of 20 ft (6 in), the profuse, wide-spreading, feeder root system also sends down many anchor roots which penetrate for several feet. The tree is long-lived, some specimens being known to be 300 years old and still fruiting.

Nearly evergreen, alternate leaves are borne mainly in rosettes at the tips of the branches and numerous twigs from which they droop like ribbons on slender petioles 1 to 4 in (2.5-10 cm) long. The new leaves, appearing periodically and irregularly on a few branches at a time, are yellowish, pink, deep-rose or wine-red, becoming dark-green and glossy above, lighter beneath. The midrib is pale and conspicuous and the many horizontal veins distinct. Full-grown leaves may be 4 to 12.5 in (10-32 cm) long and 3/4 to 2 1/8 in (2-5.4 cm) wide. Hundreds and even as many as 3,000 to 4,000 small, yellowish or reddish flowers, 25% to 98% male, the rest hermaphroditic, are borne in profuse, showy, erect, pyramidal, branched clusters 2 1/2 to 15 1/2 in (6-40 cm) high. There is great variation in the form, size, color and quality of the fruits. They may be nearly round, oval, ovoid-oblong, or somewhat kidney-shaped, often with a break at the apex, and are usually more or less lop-sided. They range from 2 1/2 to 10 in (6.25-25 cm) in length and from a few ounces to 4 to 5 lbs (1.8-2.26 kg). The skin is leathery, waxy, smooth, fairly thick, aromatic and ranges from light-or dark-green to clear yellow, yellow-orange, yellow and reddish-pink, or more or less blushed with bright-or dark-red or purple-red, with fine yellow, greenish or reddish dots, and thin or thick whitish, gray or purplish bloom, when fully ripe. Some have a “turpentine” odor and flavor, while others are richly and pleasantly fragrant. The flesh ranges from pale-yellow to deep-orange. It is essentially peach-like but much more fibrous (in some seedlings excessively so-actually “stringy”); is extremely juicy, with a flavor range from very sweet to subacid to tart.

There is a single, longitudinally ribbed, pale yellowish-white, somewhat woody stone, flattened, oval or kidney-shaped, sometimes rather elongated. It may have along one side a beard of short or long fibers clinging to the flesh cavity, or it may be nearly fiberless and free. Within the stone is the starchy seed, monoembryonic (usually single-sprouting) or polyembryonic (usually producing more than one seedling).

Origin and Distribution

Native to southern Asia, especially eastern India, Burma, and the Andaman Islands, the mango has been cultivated, praised and even revered in its homeland since Ancient times. Buddhist monks are believed to have taken the mango on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th Centuries B.C. The Persians are said to have carried it to East Africa about the 10th Century A.D. It was commonly grown in the East Indies before the earliest visits of the Portuguese who apparently introduced it to West Africa early in the 16th Century and also into Brazil. After becoming established in Brazil, the mango was carried to the West Indies, being first planted in Barbados about 1742 and later in the Dominican Republic. It reached Jamaica about 1782 and, early in the 19th Century, reached Mexico from the Philippines and the West Indies.

In 1833, Dr. Henry Perrine shipped seedling mango plants from Yucatan to Cape Sable at the southern tip of mainland Florida but these died after he was killed by Indians. Seeds were imported into Miami from the West Indies by a Dr. Fletcher in 1862 or 1863. From these, two trees grew to large size and one was still fruiting in 1910 and is believed to have been the parent of the ‘No. 11′ which was commonly planted for many years thereafter. In 1868 or 1869, seeds were planted south of Coconut Grove and the resultant trees prospered at least until 1909, producing the so-called ‘Peach’ or ‘Turpentine’ mango which became fairly common. In 1872, a seedling of ‘No. 11′ from Cuba was planted in Bradenton. In 1877 and 1879, W.P. Neeld made successful plantings on the west coast but these and most others north of Ft. Myers were killed in the January freeze of 1886.

In 1885, seeds of the excellent ‘Bombay’ mango of India were brought from Key West to Miami and resulted in two trees which flourished until 1909. Plants of grafted varieties were brought in from India by a west coast resident, Rev. D.G. Watt, in 1885 but only two survived the trip and they were soon frozen in a cold spell. Another unsuccessful importation of inarched trees from Calcutta was made in 1888. Of six grafted trees that arrived from Bombay in 1889, through the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture, only one lived to fruit nine years later. The tree shipped is believed to have been a ‘Mulgoa’ (erroneously labeled ‘Mulgoba’, a name unknown in India except as originating in Florida). However, the fruit produced did not correspond to ‘Mulgoa’ descriptions. It was beautiful, crimson-blushed, just under 1 lb (454 g) with golden-yellow flesh. No Indian visitor has recognized it as matching any Indian variety. Some suggest that it was the fruit of the rootstock if the scion had been frozen in the freeze of 1894-95. At any rate, it continued to be known as ‘Mulgoba’, and it fostered many off-spring along the southeastern coast of the State and in Cuba and Puerto Rico, though it proved to be very susceptible to the disease, anthracnose, in this climate. Seeds from this tree were obtained and planted by a Captain Haden in Miami. The trees fruited some years after his death and his widow gave the name ‘Haden’ to the tree that bore the best fruit. This variety was regarded as the standard of excellence locally for many decades thereafter and was popular for shipping because of its tough skin.

George B. Cellon started extensive vegetative propagation (patch-budding) of the ‘Haden’ in 1900 and shipped the fruits to northern markets. P.J. Wester conducted many experiments in budding, grafting and inarching from 1904 to 1908 with less success. Shield-budding on a commercial scale was achieved by Mr. Orange Pound of Coconut Grove in 1909 and this was a pioneer breakthrough which gave strong impetus to mango growing, breeding, and dissemination.

Enthusiastic introduction of other varieties by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry, by nurserymen, and other individuals followed, and the mango grew steadily in popularity and importance. The Reasoner Brothers Nursery, on the west coast, imported many mango varieties and was largely responsible for the ultimate establishment of the mango in that area, together with a Mr. J.W. Barney of Palma Sola who had a large collection of varieties and had worked out a feasible technique of propagation which he called “slot grafting”.

Dr. Wilson Popenoe, one of the early Plant Explorers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, became Director of the Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. For more than a quarter of a century, he was a leader in the introduction and propagation of outstanding mangos from India and the East Indies, had them planted at the school and at the Lancetilla Experiment Station at Tela, Honduras, and distributed around tropical America.

In time, the mango became one of the most familiar domesticated trees in dooryards or in small or large commercial plantings throughout the humid and semi-arid lowlands of the tropical world and in certain areas of the near-tropics such as the Mediterranean area (Madeira and the Canary Islands), Egypt, southern Africa, and southern Florida. Local markets throughout its range are heaped high with the fragrant fruits in season and large quantities are exported to non-producing countries.

Altogether, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made 528 introductions from India, the Philippines, the West Indies and other sources from 1899 to 1937. Selection, naming and propagation of new varieties by government agencies and individual growers has been going on ever since. The Mango Form was created in 1938 through the joint efforts of the Broward County Home Demonstration Office of the University of Florida’s Cooperative Extension Service and the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club, with encouragement and direction from the University of Florida’s Subtropical Experiment Station (now the Agricultural Research and Education Center) in Homestead, and Mrs. William J. Krome, a pioneer tropical fruit grower. Meetings were held annually, whenever possible, for the exhibiting and judging of promising seedlings, and exchanging and publication of descriptions and cultural information.

Meanwhile, a reverse flow of varieties was going on. Improved mangos developed in Florida have been of great value in upgrading the mango industry in tropical America and elsewhere.

With such intense interest in this crop, mango acreage advanced in Florida despite occasional setbacks from cold spells and hurricanes. But with the expanding population, increased land values and cost and shortage of agricultural labor after World War II, a number of large groves were subdivided into real estate developments given names such as “Mango Heights” and “Mango Terrace”. There were estimated to be 7,000 acres (2,917 ha) in 27 Florida counties in 1954, over half in commercial groves. There were 4,000 acres (1,619 ha) in 1961. Today, mango production in Florida, on approximately 1,700 acres (688 ha), is about 8,818 tons (8,000 MT) annually in “good” years, and valued at $3 million. Fruits are shipped not only to northern markets but also to the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France and Saudi Arabia. In advance of the local season, quantities are imported into the USA from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and, throughout the summer, Mexican sources supply mangos to the Pacific Coast consumer. Supplies also come in from India and Taiwan.

A mango seed from Guatemala was planted in California about 1880 and a few trees have borne fruit in the warmest locations of that state, with careful protection when extremely low temperatures occur.

Mangos have been grown in Puerto Rico since about 1750 but mostly of indifferent quality. A program of mango improvement began in 1948 with the introduction and testing of over 150 superior cultivars by the University of Puerto Rico. The south coast of the island, having a dry atmosphere, is best suited for mango culture and substantial quantities of mangos are produced there without the need to spray for anthracnose control. The fruits are plentiful on local markets and shipments are made to New York City where there are many Puerto Rican residents. A study of 16 cultivars was undertaken in 1960 to determine those best suited to more intense commercial production. Productivity evaluations started in 1965 and continued to 1972.

The earliest record of the mango in Hawaii is the introduction of several small plants from Manila in 1824. Three plants were brought from Chile in 1825. In 1899, grafted trees of a number of Indian varieties, including ‘Pairi’, were imported. Seedlings became widely distributed over the six major islands. In 1930, the ‘Haden’ was introduced from Florida and became established in commercial plantations. The local industry began to develop seriously after the importation of a series of monoembryonic cultivars from Florida. But Hawaiian mangos are prohibited from entry into mainland USA, Australia, Japan and some other countries, because of the prevalence of the mango seed weevil in the islands.

In Brazil, most mangos are produced in the state of Minas, Gerais where the crop amounts to 243,018 tons (22,000 MT) annually on 24,710 acres (10,000 ha). These are mainly seedlings, as are those of the other states with major mango crops–Ceará, Paraibá, Goias, Pernambuco, and Maranhao. Sao Paulo raises about 63,382 tons (57,500 MT) per year on 9,884 acres (4,000 ha). The bulk of the crop is for domestic consumption. In 1973, Brazil exported 47.4 tons (43 MT) of mangos to Europe.

Mango growing began with the earliest settlers in North Queensland, Australia, with seeds brought casually from India, Ceylon, the East Indies and the Philippines. In 1875, 40 varieties from India were set out in a single plantation. Over the years, selections have been made for commercial production and culture has extended to subtropical Western Australia.

There is no record of the introduction of the mango into South Africa but a plantation was set out in Durban about 1860. Production today probably has reached about 16,535 tons (15,000 MT) annually, and South Africa exports fresh mangos by air to Europe.

Kenya exports mature mangos to France and Germany and both mature and immature to the United Kingdom, the latter for chutney-making. Egypt produces 110,230 tons (100,000 MT) of mangos annually and exports moderate amounts to 20 countries in the Near East and Europe. Mango culture in the Sudan occupies about 24,710 acres (10,000 ha) producing a total of 66,138 tons (60,000 MT) per year.

India, with 2,471,000 acres (1,000,000 ha) of mangos (70% of its fruit-growing area) produces 65% of the world’s mango crop–9,920,700 tons (9,000,000 MT). In 1985, mango growers around Hyderabad sought government protection against terrorists who cut down mango orchards unless the owners paid ransom (50,000 rupees in one case). India far outranks all other countries as an exporter of processed mangos, shipping 2/3 of the total 22,046 tons (20,000 MT). Mango preserves go to the same countries receiving the fresh fruit and also to Hong Kong, Iraq, Canada and the United States. Following India in volume of exports are Thailand, 774,365 tons (702,500 MT), Pakistan and Bangladesh, followed by Brazil. Mexico ranks 5th with about 100,800 acres (42,000 ha) and an annual yield of approximately 640,000 tons (580,000 MT). The Philippines have risen to 6th place. Tanzania is 7th, the Dominican Republic, 8th and Colombia, 9th.

Leading exporters of fresh mangos are: the Philippines, shipping to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan; Thailand, shipping to Singapore and Malaysia; Mexico, shipping mostly ‘Haden’ to the United States, 2,204 tons (2,000 MT), annually, also to Japan and Paris; India, shipping mainly ‘Alphonso’ and ‘Bombay’ to Europe, Malaya, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; Indonesia, shipping to Hong Kong and Singapore; and South Africa shipping (60% ‘Haden’ and ‘Kent’) by air to Europe and London in mid-winter.

Chief importers are England and France, absorbing 82% of all mango shipments. Mango consumers in England are mostly residents of Indian origin, or English people who formerly lived in India.

The first International Symposium on Mango and Mango Culture, of the International Society for Horticultural Science, was held in New Delhi, India, in 1969 with a view to assembling a collection of germplasm from around the world and encouraging cooperative research on rootstocks and bearing behavior, hybridization, disease, storage and transport problems, and other areas of study.

Fig. 60: The tiny, colorful ‘Azucar’ mango of Santa Marta and Baranquilla, Colombia, is sweet and freestone.

Varieties

The original wild mangos were small fruits with scant, fibrous flesh, and it is believed that natural hybridization has taken place between M. indica and M. sylvatica Roxb. in Southeast Asia. Selection for higher quality has been carried on for 4,000 to 6,000 years and vegetative propagation for 400 years.

Over 500 named varieties (some say 1,000) have evolved and have been described in India. Perhaps some are duplicates by different names, but at least 350 are propagated in commercial nurseries. In 1949, K.C. Naik described 82 varieties grown in South India. L.B. and R.N. Singh presented and illustrated 150 in their monograph on the mangos of Uttar Pradesh (1956). In 1958, 24 were described as among the important commercial types in India as a whole, though in the various climatic zones other cultivars may be prominent locally. Of the 24, the majority are classed as early or mid-season:

Early:

‘Bombay Yellow’ (‘Bombai’)–high quality

‘Malda’ (‘Bombay Green’)

’01our’ (polyembryonic)–a heavy bearer.

‘Pairi’ (‘Paheri’, ‘Pirie’, ‘Peter’, ‘Nadusalai’, ‘grape’, ‘Raspuri’, ‘Goha bunder’)

‘Safdar Pasand’

‘Suvarnarekha’ (‘Sundri’)

Early to Mid-Season:

‘Langra’

‘Rajapuri’

Mid-Season:

‘Alampur Baneshan’–high quality but shy bearer

‘Alphonso’ (‘Badami’, ‘gundu’, ‘appas’, ‘khader’)–high quality

‘Bangalora’(‘Totapuri’, ‘collection’, ‘kili-mukku’, abu Samada’ in the Sudan)–of highest quality, best keeping, regular bearer, but most susceptible to seed weevil.

‘Banganapally’ (‘Baneshan’, ‘chaptai’, ‘Safeda’)–of high quality but shy bearer

‘Dusehri’ (‘Dashehari aman’, ‘nirali aman’, ‘kamyab’)–high quality

‘Gulab Khas’

‘Zardalu’

‘K.O. 11′

Mid- to Late-Season:

‘Rumani’ (often bearing an off-season crop)

‘Samarbehist’ (‘Chowsa’, ‘Chausa’, ‘Khajri’)–high quality

‘Vanraj’

‘K.O. 7/5′ (‘Himayuddin’ ´ ‘Neelum’)

Late:

‘Fazli’ (‘Fazli malda’)–high quality

‘Safeda Lucknow’

Often Late:

‘Mulgoa’–high quality but a shy bearer

‘Neelum’ (sometimes twice a year)–somewhat dwarf, of indifferent quality, and anthracnose-susceptible.

Most of the leading Indian cultivars are seedling selections. Over 50,000 crosses were made over a period of 20 years in India and 750 hybrids were raised and screened. Of these, ‘Mallika’, a cross of ‘Neelum’ (female parent) with ‘Dashehari’ (male parent) was released for cultivation in 1972. The hybrid tends toward regular bearing, the fruits are showier and are thicker of flesh than either parent, the flavor is superior and keeping quality better. The season is nearly a month later than ‘Dashehari’. Another new hybrid, ‘Amrapali’, of which ‘Dashehari’ was the female parent and ‘Neelum’ the male, is definitely dwarf, precocious, a regular and heavy bearer, and late in the season. The fruit is only medium in size; flesh is rich orange, fiberless, sweet and 2 to 3 times as high in carotene as either parent.

The Central Food Technological Research Institute Experiment Station in Hyderabad has evaluated 9 “table varieties” (firm-fleshed), 4 “juicy” varieties, and 5 hybrids as to suitability for processing. ‘Baneshan’, ‘Suvarnarekha’ and ’5/5 Rajapuri’ ´ ‘Langra’ were deemed suitable for slicing and canning. ‘Baneshan’, ‘Navaneetam’, ‘Goabunder’, ‘Royal Special’, ‘Hydersaheb’ and ’9/4 Neelum Baneshan’, for canned juice; and ‘Baneshan’, ‘Navaneetam’, ‘Goabunder’, ‘K.O. 7′and ‘Sharbatgadi’ for canned nectar.
Fig. 63: ‘Black Cold’ mangoes, dark-green externally when ripe, are partly peeled like “radish roses” on the Bangkok market to show their yellow, fiberless flesh.

It is interesting to note that all but four of the leading Indian cultivars are yellow-skinned. The exceptions are: two yellow with a red blush on shoulders, one red-yellow with a blush of red, and one green. In Thailand, there is a popular mango called ‘Tong dum’ (‘Black Gold’) marketed when the skin is very dark-green and usually displayed with the skin at the stem end cut into points and spread outward to show the golden flesh in the manner that red radishes are fashioned into “radish roses” in American culinary art.

European consumers prefer a deep-yellow mango that develops a reddish-pink tinge. In Florida, the color of the mango is an important factor and everyone admires a handsome mango more or less generously overlaid with red. Red skin is considered a necessity in mangos shipped to northern markets, even though the quality may be inferior to that of non-showy cultivars. Also, dependable bearing and shippability are rated above internal qualities for practical reasons. And a shipping mango must be one that can be picked 2 weeks before full maturity without appreciable loss of flavor. Too, there must be several varieties to extend the season over at least 3 months.

Florida mangos are classed in 4 groups:

1–Indian varieties, mainly monoembryonic, introduced in the past and maintained mostly in collections; typically of somewhat “turpentine” character.

2–Philippine and Indo-Chinese types, largely polyembryonic, non-turpentiney, fiberless, fairly anthracnose-resistant. Scattered in dooryard plantings.

3–West Indian/South American mangos, especially ‘Turpentine’ and ‘No.11′ and the superior ‘Julie’ from Trinidad, ‘Madame Francis’ from Haiti, ‘Itamaraca’ from Brazil. These are non-commercial.

4–Florida-originated selections or cultivars, of which many have risen and declined over the decades.

In general, mangos from the Philippines (‘Carabao’) and Thailand (‘Saigon’, ‘Cambodiana’) behave better in Florida’s humidity than the Indian varieties.

The much-prized ‘Haden’ was being recognized in the late 1930′s and early 1940′s as anthracnose-prone, a light and irregular bearer, and was being replaced by more disease-resistant and prolific cultivars. The present-day leaders for commercial production and shipping are ‘Tommy Atkins’, ‘Keitt’, ‘Kent’, ‘Van Dyke’ and Jubilee’. The first 2 represent 50% of the commercial crop.
Plate XXVIII: MANGO, Mangifera indica–’Kent’, ‘Tommy Atkins’, and ‘Irwin’

‘Tommy Atkins’ (from a seed planted early in the 1920′s at Fort Lauderdale, Florida; commercially adopted in the late 1950′s); oblong-oval; medium to large; skin thick, orange-yellow, largely overlaid with bright- to dark-red and heavy purplish bloom, and dotted with many large, yellow-green lenticels. Flesh medium- to dark-yellow, firm, juicy, with medium fiber, of fair to good quality; flavor poor if over-fertilized and irrigated. Seed small. Season: mid-May to early July, or late June through July, depending on spring weather; can be picked early, developing good color and usually has long shelf-life. Sometimes there is an open space in the flesh at the stem-end. Interior softening near the seed occurs in some years. Anthracnose-resistant.

‘Keitt’–rounded-oval to ovate; large; skin medium-thick, yellow with light-red blush and a lavender bloom; the many lenticels small, yellow to red. Flesh orange-yellow, firm, fiberless except near the seed; of rich, sweet flavor; very good quality. Seed small, or medium to large. Season: early July through August or August and September, depending on spring weather. Tree small to medium, erect, open, rather scraggly but very productive. For market acceptance, requires post-harvest ethylene treatment to enhance color.

‘Kent’–ovate, thick; large; skin greenish-yellow with dark-red blush and gray bloom; many small, yellow lenticels. Flesh fiberless, juicy, sweet; very good to excellent. Seed small. Season: July and August and often into September, but if left on too long the seed tends to sprout in the fruit–a condition called ovipary. Subject to black spot. Tree is of erect, slender habit, of moderate size, precocious; bears very well and fruit ships well, but, for the market, needs ethylene treatment to enrich color.

‘Van Dyke’ and ‘Jubilee’ are relatively new cultivars maturing from late June through July. ‘Van Dyke’ is of superior color and excellent quality but subject to anthracnose and may not hold its place for long.

Two cultivars that have stood the test of time and have been shipped north on a lesser scale are:

‘Sensation’ (originated in North Miami; tree moved to Carmichael grove near Perrine and propagated and grown commercially since 1949). Oval, oblique, and faintly beaked; medium to medium-small; skin thin, adherent; basically yellow to yellow-orange overlaid with dark plum-red, and with tiny, pale-yellow lenticels. Flesh pale-yellow, firm, with very little fiber, faintly aromatic, of mild, slightly sweet flavor; of good quality. Monoembryonic. Tree bears heavily in August.

‘Palmer’–oblong-ovate, plump; large; skin medium-thick, orange-yellow with red blush and pale bloom and many large lenticels. Flesh dull-yellow, firm, with very little or no fiber; of fair to good quality. Seed long, of medium size. Season: July and August, sometimes into September. Tree is medium to large; precocious; usually bears well.

The leading cultivar for local market at present is:

‘Irwin’ (a seedling of ‘Lippens’, planted by F.D. Irwin of Miami in 1939; bore its first fruits in 1945); oblong-ovate, one shoulder oblique; of medium size; skin orange to pink with extensive dark-red blush and small, white lenticels. Seed of medium size. Flesh yellow, almost fiberless, with mild, sweet flavor; good to very good quality. Seed small. Season: mid-May to early July; or June through July. Tree somewhat dwarf; bears heavy crops of fruits in clusters. Fruit no longer shipped because if picked before full maturity ripens with a mottled appearance which is not acceptable on the market.
Plate XXVII: MANGO, Mangifera indica–’Cambodiana’

Non-colorful or not high-yielding cultivars of excellent quality recommended for Florida homeowners include:

‘Carrie’ (somewhat dwarf); ‘Edward’ (‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Florigon’; ‘Jacquelin’; ‘Cambodiana’; ‘Cecil’; ‘Saigon’.

Among cultivars formerly commercial but largely top-worked to others favored for various reasons: ‘Davis-Haden’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Fascell’; ‘Lippens’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Smith’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Spring-fels’; ‘Dixon’; ‘Sunset’; ‘Zill’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling).

Many cultivars that have lost popularity in Florida have become of importance elsewhere. ‘Sandersha’, for example, has proved remarkably resistant to most mango fruit diseases in South Africa.

The histories and descriptions of 46 cultivars growing in Brazil were published in 1955. These included ‘Brooks’, ‘Cacipura’, ‘Cambodiana’, ‘Goa-Alphonso’, ‘Haden’, ‘Mulgoba’, ‘Pairi’, ‘Pico’, ‘Sandersha’, ‘Singapore’, ‘White Langra’, all brought in from Florida. The rest are mostly local seedlings. ‘Haden’ was introduced from Florida in 1931 and has been widely cultivated. It is still included among the cultivars of major importance, the others being ‘Extrema’, ‘Non-Plus-Ultra’. ‘Carlota’; but in 1977 the leading cultivar in Brazil was reported to be ‘Bourbon’, also known as ‘Espada’. It is found especially in northeastern Brazil but is recommended for all other mango areas. A collection of 53 cultivars is maintained at Piricicaba and another of 82 at Bahia.

Of Mexican mangos, 65% are Florida selections; 35% are of the type commonly grown in the Philippines. Over a period of 3 years detailed studies have been made of the commercial cultivars in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, with a view to determining the most profitable for export. Results indicated that propagation of ‘Purple Irwin’, ‘Red Irwin’, ‘Sensation’ and ‘Zill’ should be discontinued, and that ‘Haden’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Keitt’ will continue to be planted, the first two because, of their color and quality, and the third in spite of its deficiency in color.

‘Manila’, a Philippine mango, early-ripening, is much grown in Veracruz. ‘Manzanillo-Nunez’, a chance seedling first noticed in 1972, is gaining in popularity because of its regular bearing, skin color (75% red), nearly fiberless flesh, good quality, high yield and resistance to anthracnose.

‘Julie’ is the main mango exported from the West Indies to Europe. The fruit is somewhat flattened on one side, of medium size; the flesh is not completely fiberless but is of good flavor. It came to Florida from Trinidad but has long been popular in Jamaica. The tree is somewhat dwarf, has 30% to 50% hermaphrodite flowers; bears well and regularly. It is adaptable to humid environments and disease-resistant and the fruit is resistant to the fruit fly. ‘Julie’ has been grown in Ghana since the early 1920′s. From ‘Julie’, the well-known mango breeder, Lawrence Zill, developed ‘Carrie’, but ‘Julie’ has not been planted in Florida for many years.

Grafted plants of the ‘Bombay Green’, so popular in Jamaica, were brought there from India in 1869 by the then governor, Sir John Peter Grant, but were planted in Castleton gardens where the trees flourished but failed to fruit in the humid atmosphere. Years later, a Director of Agriculture had budwood from these trees transferred to rootstocks at Hope Gardens. The results were so successful that the ‘Bombay Green’ became commonly planted on the island. The author brought six grafted trees from Jamaica to Miami in 1951 and, after they were released from quarantine, distributed them to the Subtropical Experiment Station in Homestead, the Newcomb Nursery, and a private grower, but all succumbed to the cold in succeeding winters. The fruit is completely fiberless and freestone so that it is frequently served cut in half and eaten with a spoon. The seed is pierced with a mango fork and served also so that the luscious flesh that adheres to it may be enjoyed as well.

One of the best-known mangos peculiar to the West Indies is ‘Madame Francis’ which is produced abundantly in Haiti. It is a large, flattened, kidney-shaped mango, light-green, slightly yellowish when ripe, with orange, low-fiber, richly flavored flesh. This mango has been regularly exported to Florida in late spring after fumigation against the fruit fly.

Ghana received more than a dozen cultivars back in the early 1920′s. In 1973, it was found that only three of these–’Julie’, ‘Jaffna’ and ‘Rupee’–could be recognized with certainty. More than a dozen other cultivars were brought in much later from Florida and India. An effort was begun in 1967 to classify the seedlings (from 10 to 50 years of age) in the Ejura district, the Ejura Agricultural Station, and the plantation of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in order to eliminate confusion and have identifiable cultivars marked for future research. After checking with available published material on other cultivars for possible resemblances, descriptions and photographs of 21 newly named cultivars were published in 1973. Of these, 12 are fibrous and 9 fiberless. (See Godfrey-Sam-Aggrey and Arbutiste in the Bibliography). One of the fibrous cultivars, named ‘Tee-Vee-Dee’, is so well flavored and aromatic that it is locally extremely popular.

Until the mid-1960′s mangos were grown only in dooryards in Surinam and the few varieties were largely polyembryonic types from Indonesia, and these have given rise to many chance seedlings. In order to discover the best for commercial planting, mango exhibits were sponsored and budwood of the best selections has been grafted onto various rootstocks at the Paramaribo Agricultural Experiment Station. The two most important local mangos are:

‘Golek’ (from Java; also grown in Queensland) long-oblong; skin dull-green or yellowish-green even when ripe, leathery; flesh pale yellow, thick, fiberless, sweet, rich, of excellent quality. Keeps well in cold storage for 3 weeks. Season: early (December in Queensland). Tree bears moderately to heavily. This cultivar is considered the most promising for large-scale culture and export. In Queensland it tends to crack longitudinally as it matures.

‘Roodborstje’–medium to large; skin deep-red; flesh sweet, juicy, with very little fiber. Not a good keeper. Season: early to midseason. Tree is a heavy bearer.

In Venezuela, eleven cultivars were evaluated by food technologists for processing suitability–’Blackman’, ‘Glenn’, ‘Irwin’, ‘Kent’, ‘Lippens’, ‘Martinica’, ‘Sensation’, ‘Smith’, ‘Selection 80′, ‘Selection 85′, and ‘Zill’. The most appropriate, because of physicochemical characteristics and productivity were determined to be: ‘Glenn’, ‘Irwin’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Zill’.

In Hawaii, ‘Haden’ has represented 90% of all commercial production. ‘Pairi’ is more prized for home use but is a shy bearer, a poor keeper, not as colorful as ‘Haden’, so it never attained commercial status. In a search for earlier and later varieties of commercial potential, over 125 varieties were collected and tested between 1934 and 1969. In 1956, one of the winning entries in a mango contest attracted much attention. After propagation and due observation it was named ‘Gouveia’ in 1969 and described as: ovate-oblong, of medium size, with medium-thick, ochre-yellow skin blushed with blood-red over 2/3 of the surface. Flesh is orange, nearly fiberless, sweet, juicy. Seed is small, slender, monoembryonic. Season: late. Tree is of medium size, a consistent but not heavy bearer. In quality tests ‘Gouveia’ received top scoring over ‘Haden’, ‘Pairi’, and several other cultivars. Florida mangos rated as promising for Hawaii were ‘Pope’, ‘Kent’, ‘Keitt’ and ‘Brooks’ (later than ‘Haden’) and ‘Earlygold’ and ‘Zill’ (earlier than ‘Haden’).

In Queensland, ‘Kensington Pride’ is the leading commercial cultivar in the drier areas. In humid regions it is anthracnose-prone and requires spraying. It is thought to have been introduced by traders in Bowen who were shipping horses for military use in India. It may be called ‘Kensington’, ‘Bowen’, or, because of its color, ‘Apple’ or ‘Strawberry’. The fruit is distinctly beaked when immature, with a groove extending from the stem to the beak. It is medium-large; the skin is bright orange-yellow with red-pink blush overlying areas exposed to the sun. Flesh is orange, thick, nearly fiberless, juicy, of rich flavor. This cultivar is classified as mid-season. The fruit matures from early to mid-November at latitude 13°S; 6 weeks later at Bowen (20°S) and 1 week later for each degree of latitude from Bowen to Brisbane. But at 17°S and an altitude of 1,148 ft (350 m) peak maturity is in mid- to late-January. Polyembryonic. The fruit ships well but the tree is not a dependable nor heavy bearer. It has an oval crown and unusually sweet-scented leaves.

In 1981, after evaluating 43 accessions seeking to lengthen the mango season in Queensland, 9 that mature between 2 weeks earlier and 4 weeks later than ‘Kensington Pride’ were chosen for commercial testing. Only one, ‘Banana-1′, was a Queensland selection. The other 8 were introductions from Florida–’Smith’, ‘Palmer’, ‘Haden’, ‘Zill’, ‘Carrie’, ‘Irwin’, ‘Kent’, ‘Keitt’. ‘Kent’ and ‘Haden’ have proved to be highly susceptible to blackspot in Queensland; ‘Keitt’, ‘Smith’, and ‘Zill’ less so; and ‘Palmer’ and ‘Kensington Pride’ resistant.

In the Philippines, the ‘Carabao’ constitutes 66% of the crop and ‘Pico’ 26%. These cultivars, apparently of Southeast Asian origin have remained the most commonly grown and exported for many years.

In Israel, ‘Haden’ has been popular for a long time though it is sensitive to low temperatures in spring. An Egyptian introduction, ‘Mabroka’ is later in season and escapes the early frosts. ‘Maya’, a local seedling of ‘Haden’ has done well. Perhaps the most promising today is ‘Nimrod’, a seedling of ‘Maya’, open pollinated, perhaps by ‘Haden’, planted in 1943, observed for 20 years and budded progeny for another 9 years; named and released in 1970. The fruit is round-ovate, large; skin is fairly thin, olive-green to yellow-green, blushed with red; attractive. Flesh is deep-yellow, nearly fiberless, of fair flavor. Seed is large, monoembryonic. Matures in mid-season (all August to mid-September in Israel). Tree is large, upright, very cold-resistant. Average yield is 480 lbs (218 kg) per tree over 10 years.

It is impressive to see how the early favorite, ‘Haden’, has influenced mango culture in many parts of the world. Today, the Subtropical Horticulture Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research and Education Center of the University of Florida, together maintain 125 mango cultivars as a resource for mango growers and breeders in many countries.

Fig. 65: Mango trees produce massive sprays of reddish or yellowish flowers but only a few fruits develop from each spray.

Blooming and Pollination

Mango trees less than 10 years old may flower and fruit regularly every year. Thereafter, most mangos tend toward alternate, or biennial, bearing. A great deal of research has been done on this problem which may involve the entire tree or only a portion of the branches. Branches that fruit one year may rest the next, while branches on the other side of the tree will bear.

Blooming is strongly affected by weather, dryness stimulating flowering and rainy weather discouraging it. In most of India, flowering occurs in December and January; in northern India, in January and February or as late as March. There are some varieties called “Baramasi” that flower and fruit irregularly throughout the year. The cultivar ‘Sam Ru Du’ of Thailand bears 3 crops a year–in January, June and October. In the drier islands of the Lesser Antilles, there are mango trees that flower and fruit more or less continuously all year around but never heavily at any time. Some of these are cultivars introduced from Florida where they flower and fruit only once a year. In southern Florida, mango trees begin to bloom in late November and continue until February or March, inasmuch as there are early, medium, and late varieties. During exceptionally warm winters, mango trees have been known to bloom 3 times in succession, each time setting and maturing fruit.

In the Philippines, various methods are employed to promote flowering: smudging (smoking), exposing the roots, pruning, girdling, withholding nitrogen and irrigation, and even applying salt. In the West Indies, there is a common folk practice of slashing the trunk with a machete to make the tree bloom and bear in “off” years. Deblos-soming (removing half the flower clusters) in an “on” year will induce at least a small crop in the next “off” year. Almost any treatment or condition that retards vegetative growth will have this effect. Spraying with growth-retardant chemicals has been tried, with inconsistent results. Potassium nitrate has been effective in the Philippines.

In India, the cultivar ‘Dasheri’, which is self incompatible, tends to begin blooming very early (December and January) when no other cultivars are in flower. And the early particles show a low percentage of hermaphrodite flowers and a high incidence of floral malformation. Furthermore, early blooms are often damaged by frost. It has been found that a single mechanical deblossoming in the first bud-burst stage, induces subsequent development of particles with less malformation, more hermaphrodite flowers, and, as a result, a much higher yield of fruits.

There is one cultivar, ‘Neelum’, in South India that bears heavily every year, apparently because of its high rate (16%) of hermaphrodite flowers. (The average for ‘Alphonso’ is 10%.) However, Indian horticulturists report great tree-to-tree variation in seedlings of this cultivar; in some surveys as much as 84% of the trees were rated as poor bearers. Over 92% of ‘Bangalora’ seedlings have been found bearing light crops.

Mango flowers are visited by fruit bats, flies, wasps, wild bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, ants and various bugs seeking the nectar and some transfer the pollen but a certain amount of self-pollination also occurs. Honeybees do not especially favor mango flowers and it has been found that effective pollination by honeybees would require 3 to 6 colonies per acre (6-12 per ha). Many of the unpollinated flowers are shed or fail to set fruit, or the fruit is set but is shed when very young. Heavy rains wash off pollen and thus prevent fruit setting. Some cultivars tend to produce a high percentage of small fruits without a fully developed seed because of unfavorable weather during the fruit-setting period.

Shy-bearing cultivars of otherwise desirable characteristics are hybridized with heavy bearers in order to obtain better crops. For example: shy-bearing ‘Himayuddin’ ´ heavy-bearing ‘Neelum’. Breeders usually hand-pollinate all the flowers that are open in a cluster, remove the rest, and cover the inflorescence with a plastic bag. But researchers in India have found that there is very little chance of contamination and that omitting the covering gives as much as 3.85% fruit set in place of 0.23% to 1.57% when bagged. Thus large populations of hybrids may be raised for study. One of the latest techniques involves grafting the male and female parents onto a chosen tree, then covering the panicles with a polyethylene bag, and introducing house flies as pollinators.

Indian scientists have found that pollen for crossbreeding can be stored at 32° F (0° C) for 10 hours. If not separated from the flowers, it remains viable for 50 hours in a humid atmosphere at 65° to 75° F (18.33° -23.09° C). The stigma is receptive 18 hours before full flower opening and, some say, for 72 hours after.

Climate

The mango is naturally adapted to tropical lowlands between 25°N and 25°S of the Equator and up to elevations of 3,000 ft (915 m). It is grown as a dooryard tree at slightly cooler altitudes but is apt to suffer cold damage. The amount of rainfall is not as critical as when it occurs. The best climate for mango has rainfall of 30 to 100 in (75-250 cm) in the four summer months (June to September) followed by 8 months of dry season. This crop is well suited to irrigated regions bordering the desert frontier in Egypt. Nevertheless, the tree flourishes in southern Florida’s approximately 5 months of intermittent, scattered rains (October to February), 3 months of drought (usually March to May) and 4 months of frequently heavy rains (June to September).

Rain, heavy dews or fog during the blooming season (November to March in Florida) are deleterious, stimulating tree growth but interfering with flower production and encouraging fungus diseases of the inflorescence and fruit. In Queensland, dry areas with rainfall of 40 in (100 cm), 75% of which occurs from January to March, are favored for mango growing because vegetative growth is inhibited and the fruits are well exposed to the sun from August to December, become well colored, and are relatively free of disease. Strong winds during the fruiting season cause many fruits to fall prematurely.

Soil

The mango tree is not too particular as to soil type, providing it has good drainage. Rich, deep loam certainly contributes to maximum growth, but if the soil is too rich and moist and too well fertilized, the tree will respond vegetatively but will be deficient in flowering and fruiting. The mango performs very well in sand, gravel, and even oolitic limestone (as in southern Florida and the Bahamas)

A polyembryonic seedling, ‘No. 13-1′, introduced into Israel from Egypt in 1931, has been tested since the early 1960′s in various regions of the country for tolerance of calcareous soils and saline conditions. It has done so well in sand with a medium (15%) lime content and highly saline irrigation water (over 600 ppm) that it has been adopted as the standard rootstock in commercial plantings in salty, limestone districts of Israel. Where the lime content is above 30%, iron chelates are added.

Propagation

Mango trees grow readily from seed. Germination rate and vigor of seedlings are highest when seeds are taken from fruits that are fully ripe, not still firm. Also, the seed should be fresh, not dried. If the seed cannot be planted within a few days after its removal from the fruit, it can be covered with moist earth, sand, or sawdust in a container until it can be planted, or kept in charcoal dust in a dessicator with 50% relative humidity. Seeds stored in the latter manner have shown 80% viability even after 70 days. High rates of germination are obtained if seeds are stored in polyethylene bags but the seedling behavior may be poor. Inclusion of sphagnum moss in the sack has no benefit and shows inferior rates of germination over 2- to 4-week periods, and none at all at 6 weeks.

The flesh should be completely removed. Then the husk is opened by carefully paring around the convex edge with a sharp knife and taking care not to cut the kernel, which will readily slide out. Husk removal speeds germination and avoids cramping of roots, and also permits discovery and removal of the larva of the seed weevil in areas where this pest is prevalent. Finally, the husked kernels are treated with fungicide and planted without delay. The beds must have solid bottoms to prevent excessive taproot growth, otherwise the taproot will become 18 to 24 in (45-60 cm) long while the top will be only one third to a half as high, and the seedling will be difficult to transplant with any assurance of survival. The seed is placed on its ventral (concave) edge with 1/4 protruding above the sand. Sprouting occurs in 8 to 14 days in a warm, tropical climate; 3 weeks in cooler climates. Seedlings generally take 6 years to fruit and 15 years to attain optimum yield for evaluation.

However, the fruits of seedlings may not resemble those of the parent tree. Most Indian mangos are monoembryonic; that is, the embryo usually produces a single sprout, a natural hybrid from accidental crossing, and the resulting fruit may be inferior, superior, or equal to that of the tree from which the seed came. Mangos of Southeast Asia are mostly polyembryonic. In these, generally, one of the embryos in the seed is a hybrid; the others (up to 4) are vegetative growths which faithfully reproduce the characteristics of the parent. The distinction is not absolute, and occasionally a seed supposedly of one class may behave like the other.

Seeds of polyembryonic mangos are most convenient for local and international distribution of desirable varieties. However, in order to reproduce and share the superior monoembryonic selections, vegetative propagation is necessary. Inarching and approach-grafting are traditional in India. Tongue-, saddle-, and root-grafting (stooling) are also common Indian practices. Shield- and patch-grafting have given up to 70% success but the Forkert system of budding has been found even more practical. After many systems were tried, veneer grafting was adopted in Florida in the mid-1950′s. Choice of rootstock is important. Use of seedlings of unknown parentage has resulted in great variability in a single cultivar. Some have believed that polyembryonic rootstocks are better than monoembryonic, but this is not necessarily so. In trials at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, 10-year-old trees of ‘Neelum’ grafted on polyembryonic ‘Bapakkai’ showed vigor and spread of tree and productivity far superior to those grafted on ‘Olour’ which is also polyembryonic. Those grafted on monoembryonic rootstock also showed better growth and yield than those on ‘Olour’. In 1981, experimenters at Lucknow, India, reported the economic advantage of “stone-grafting”, which requires less space in the nursery and results in greater uniformity. Scions from the spring flush of selected cultivars are defoliated and, after a 10-day delay, are cleft-grafted on 5-day-old seedlings which must thereafter be kept in the shade and protected from drastic changes in the weather.

Old trees of inferior types are top-worked to better cultivars by either side-grafting or crown-grafting the beheaded trunk or beheaded main branches. Such trees need protection from sunburn until the graft affords shade. In South Africa, the trunks are whitewashed and bunches of dry grass are tied onto cut branch ends. The trees will bear in 2 to 3 years. Attempts to grow 3 or 4 varieties on one rootstock may appear to succeed for a while but the strongest always outgrows the others.

Cuttings, even when treated with growth regulators, are only 40% successful. Best results are obtained with cuttings of mature trees, ringed 40 days before detachment, treated, and rooted under mist. But neither cuttings nor air layers develop good root systems and are not practical for establishing plantations. Clonal propagation through tissue culture is in the experimental stage.

In spite of vegetative propagation, mutations arise in the form of bud sports. The fruit may differ radically from the others on a grafted tree-perhaps larger and superior-and the foliage on the branch may be quite unlike that on other branches.

Dwarfing

Reduction in the size of mango trees would be a most desirable goal for the commercial and private planter. It would greatly assist harvesting and also would make it possible for the homeowner to maintain trees of different fruiting seasons in limited space.

In India, double-grafting has been found to dwarf mango trees and induce early fruiting. Naturally dwarf hybrids such as ‘Julie’ have been developed. The polyembryonic Indian cultivars, ‘Olour’ and ‘Vellai Colamban’, when used as rootstocks, have a dwarfing effect; so has the polyembryonic ‘Sabre’ in experiments in Israel and South Africa.

In Peru, the polyembryonic ‘Manzo de Ica’, is used as rootstock; in Colombia, ‘Hilaza’ and ‘Puerco’. ‘Kaew’ is utilized in Thailand.

Culture

About 6 weeks before transplanting either a seedling or a grafted tree, the taproot should be cut back to about 12 in (30 cm). This encourages feeder-root development in the field. For a week before setting out, the plants should be exposed to full morning sun.

Inasmuch as mango trees vary in lateral dimensions, spacing depends on the habit of the cultivar and the type of soil, and may vary from 34 to 60 ft (10.5-18 m) between trees. Closer planting will ultimately reduce the crop. A spacing of 34 x 34 ft (10.5 x l0.5 m) allows 35 trees per acre (86 per ha); 50 x 50 ft (15.2 x l5.2 m) allows only 18 trees per acre (44.5 per ha). In Florida’s limestone, one commercial grower maintains 100 trees per acre (247 per ha), controlling size by hedging and topping.

The young trees should be placed in prepared and enriched holes at least 2 ft (60 cm) deep and wide, and 3/4 of the top should be cut off. In commercial groves in southern Florida, the trees are set at the intersection of cross trenches mechanically cut through the limestone.

Mangos require high nitrogen fertilization in the early years but after they begin to bear, the fertilizer should be higher in phosphate and potash. A 5-8-10 fertilizer mix is recommended and applied 2 or 3, or possibly even 4, times a year at the rate of 1 lb (454 g) per year of age at each dressing, Fertilizer formulas will vary with the type of soil. In sandy acid soils, excess nitrogen contributes to “soft nose” breakdown of the fruits. This can be counteracted by adding calcium. On organic soils (muck and peat), nitrogen may be omitted entirely. In India, fertilizer is applied at an increasing rate until the tree is rather old, and then it is discontinued. Ground fertilizers are supplemented by foliar nutrients including zinc, manganese and copper. Iron deficiency is corrected by small applications of chelated iron.

Indian growers generally irrigate the trees only the first 3 or 4 years while the taproot is developing and before it has reached the water table. However, in commercial plantations, irrigation of bearing trees is withheld only for the 2 or 3 months prior to flowering. When the blooms appear, the tree is given a heavy watering and this is repeated monthly until the rains begin. In Florida groves, irrigation is by means of overhead sprinklers which also provide frost protection when needed.

Usually no pruning is done until the 4th year, and then only to improve the form and this is done right after the fruiting season. If topping is practiced, the trees are cut at 14 ft (4.25 m) to facilitate both spraying and harvesting. Grafted mangos may set fruit within a year or two from planting. The trees are then too weak to bear a full crop and the fruits should be thinned or completely removed.

Harvesting

Mangos normally reach maturity in 4 to 5 months from flowering. Fruits of “smudged” trees ripen several months before those of untreated trees. Experts in the Philippines have demonstrated that ‘Carabao’ mangos sprayed with ethephon (200 ppm) 54 days after full bloom can be harvested 2 weeks later at recommended minimum maturity. The fruits will be larger and heavier even though harvested 2 weeks before untreated fruits. If sprayed at 68 days after full bloom and harvested 2 weeks after spraying, there will be an improvement in quality in regard to soluble solids and titratable acidity.

When the mango is full-grown and ready for picking, the stem will snap easily with a slight pull. If a strong pull is necessary, the fruit is still somewhat immature and should not be harvested. In the more or less red types of mangos, an additional indication of maturity is the development of a purplish-red blush at the base of the fruit. A long-poled picking bag which holds no more than 4 fruits is commonly used by pickers. Falling causes bruising and later spoiling. When low fruits are harvested with clippers, it is desirable to leave a 4-inch (10 cm) stem to avoid the spurt of milky/resinous sap that exudes if the stem is initially cut close. Before packing, the stem is cut off 1/4 in (6 mm) from the base of the fruit. In Queensland, after final clipping of the stem, the fruits are placed stem-end-down to drain.

In a sophisticated Florida operation, harvested fruits are put into tubs of water on trucks in order to wash off the sap that exudes from the stem end. At the packing house, the fruits are transferred from the tubs to bins, graded and sized and packed in cartons (“lugs”) of 8 to 20 each depending on size. The cartons are made mechanically at the packing house and hold 14 lbs (6.35 kg) of fruit. The filled cartons are stacked on pallets and fork-lifted into refrigerated trucks with temperature set at no less than 55° F (12.78° C) for transport to distribution centers in major cities throughout the USA and Canada.

Yield

The yield varies with the cultivar and the age of the tree. At 10 to 20 years, a good annual crop may be 200 to 300 fruits per tree. At twice that age and over, the crop will be doubled. In Java,, old trees have been known to bear 1,000 to 1,500 fruits in a season. Some cultivars in India bear 800 to 3,000 fruits in “on” years and, with good cultural attention, yields of 5,000 fruits have been reported. There is a famous mango, ‘Pane Ka Aam’ of Maharashtra and Khamgaon, India, with “paper-thin” skin and fiberless flesh. One of the oldest of these trees, well over 100 years of age, bears heavily 5 years out of 10 with 2 years of low yield. Average annual yield is 6,500 fruits; the highest record is 29,000.

Reported annual yields for 6 cultivars in Puerto Rico are:

‘Lippens’ 67,079 lbs per acre
‘Keitt’ 45,608 lbs per acre
‘Earlygold’ 42,310 lbs per acre
‘Parvin’ 38,369 lbs per acre
‘Haden’ 32,732 lbs per acre
‘Palmer’ 28,868 lbs per acre

The number of lbs per acre is roughly the equivalent of kg per hectare.

Average mango yield in Florida is said to be about 30,000 lbs/acre. One leading commercial grower has reported his annual crop as 22,000 to 27,500 lbs/acre. One grower who has hedged and topped trees close-planted at the rate of 100 per acre (41/ha) averages 14,000 to 19.000 lbs/acre.

Ripening

In India, mangos are picked quite green to avoid bird damage and the dealers layer them with rice straw in ventilated storage rooms over a period of one week. Quality is improved by controlled temperatures between 60° and 70° F (15° -21° C). In ripening trials in Puerto Rico, the ‘Edward’ mango was harvested while deep-green, dipped in hot water at 124° F (51° C) to control anthracnose, sorted as to size, then stored for 15 days at 70° F (21° C) with relative humidity of 85% to 90%. Those picked when more than 3 in (7.5 cm) in diameter ripened satisfactorily and were of excellent quality.

Ethylene treatment causes green mangos to develop full color in 7 to 10 days depending on the degree of maturity, whereas untreated fruits require 10 to 15 days. One of the advantages is that there can be fewer pickings and the fruit color after treatment is more uniform. Therefore, ethylene treatment is a common practice in Israel for ripening fruits for the local market. Some growers in Florida depend on ethylene treatment. Generally, 24 hours of exposure is sufficient if the fruits are picked at the proper stage. It has been determined that mangos have been picked prematurely if they require more than 48 hours of ethylene treatment and are not fit for market.

Keeping Quality and Storage

Washing the fruits immediately after harvest is essential, as the sap which leaks from the stem bums the skin of the fruit making black lesions which lead to rotting.

Some cultivars, especially ‘Bangalora’, ‘Alphonso’, and ‘Neelum’ in India, have much better keeping quality than others. In Bombay, ‘Alphonso’ has kept well for 4 weeks at 52° F (11.11° C); 6 to 7 weeks at 45° F (7.22° C). Storage at lower temperatures is detrimental inasmuch as mangos are very susceptible to chilling injury. Any temperature below 55.4° F (13° C) is damaging to ‘Kent’. In Florida, this is regarded as the optimum for 2 to 3 weeks storage. The best ripening temperatures are 70° to 75° F (21.11°-23.89° C).

Experiments in Florida have demonstrated that ‘Irwin’, ‘Tommy Atkins’ and ‘Kent’ mangos, held for 3 weeks at storage temperature of 55.4° F (13° C), 98% to 100% relative humidity and atmospheric pressure of 76 or 152 mmHg, ripened thereafter with less decay at 69.8° F (21° C) under normal atmospheric pressure, as compared with fruits stored at the same temperature with normal atmospheric pressure. Those stored at 152 mmHg took 3 to 5 days longer to ripen than those stored at 76 mmHg. Decay rates were 20% for ‘Tommy Atkins’ and 40% for ‘Irwin’. Spoilage from anthracnose has been reduced by immersion for 15 min in water at 125° F (51.67° C) or for 5 min at 132° F (55.56° C). Dipping in 500 ppm maleic hydrazide for 1 min and storing at 89.6° F (32° C) also retards decay but not loss of moisture. In South Africa, mangos are submerged immediately after picking in a suspension of benomyl for 5 min at 131° F (55° C) to control soft brown rot.

In Australia, mature-green ‘Kensington Pride’ mangos have been dipped in a 4% solution of calcium chloride under reduced pressure (250 mm Hg) and then stored in containers at 77° F (25° C) in ethylene-free atmosphere. Ripening was retarded by a week; that is, the treated fruits ripened in 20 to 22 days whereas controls ripened in 12 to 14 days. Eating quality was equal except that the calcium-treated fruits were found slightly higher in ascorbic acid.

Wrapping fruits individually in heat-shrinkable plastic film has not retarded decay in storage. The only benefit has been 3% less weight loss. Coating with paraffin wax or fungicidal wax and storing at 68° to 89.6° F (20° -32° C) delays ripening 1 to 2 weeks and prevents shriveling but interferes with full development of color.

Gamma irradiation (30 Krad) causes ripening delay of 7 days in mangos stored at room temperature. The irradiated fruits ripen normally and show no adverse effect on quality. Irradiation has not yet been approved for this purpose.

In India, large quantities of mangos are transported to distant markets by rail. To avoid excessive heat buildup and consequent spoilage, the fruits, padded with paper shavings, are packed in ventilated wooden crates and loaded into ventilated wooden boxcars. Relative humidity varies from 24% to 85% and temperature from 88° to 115° F (31.6°-46.6° C). These improved conditions have proved superior to the conventional packing of the fruits in Phoenix-palm-midrib or bamboo, or the newer pigeonpea-stem, baskets padded with rice straw and mango leaves and transported in steel boxcars, which has resulted in 20% to 30% losses from shriveling, unshapeliness and spoilage.

Green seedling mangos, harvested in India for commercial preparation of chutneys and pickles as well as for table use, are stored for as long as 40 days at 42° to 45° F (5.56°-7.22° C) with relative humidity of 85% to 99%. Some of these may be diverted for table use after a 2-week ripening period at 62° to 65° F (16.67° -18.13° C).

Pests and Diseases

The fruit flies, Dacus ferrugineus and D. zonatus, attack the mango in India; D. tryoni (now Strumeta tryoni) in Queensland, and D. dorsalis in the Philippines; Pardalaspis cosyra in Kenya; and the fruit fly is the greatest enemy of the mango in Central America. Because of the presence of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa, in Florida, all Florida mangos for interstate shipment or for export must be fumigated or immersed in hot water at 115° F (46.11° C) for 65 minutes.

In India, South Africa and Hawaii, mango seed weevils, Sternochetus (Cryptorhynchus) mangiferae and S. gravis, are major pests, undetectable until the larvae tunnel their way out. The leading predators of the tree in India are jassid hoppers (Idiocerus spp.) variously attacking trunk and branches or foliage and flowers, and causing shedding of young fruits. The honeydew they excrete on leaves and flowers gives rise to sooty mold.

The mango-leaf webber, or “tent caterpillar”, Orthaga euadrusalis, has become a major problem in North India, especially in old, crowded orchards where there is excessive shade. Around Lucknow, ‘Dashehari’ is heavily infested by this pest; ‘Samarbehist’ (‘Chausa’) less. In South Africa, 11 species of scales have been recorded on the fruits. Coccus mangiferae and C. acuminatus are the most common scale insects giving rise to the sooty mold that grows on the honeydew excreted by the pests. In some areas, there are occasional outbreaks of the scales, Pulvinaria psidii, P. polygonata, Aulacaspis cinnamoni, A. tubercularis, Aspidiotus destructor and Leucaspis indica. In Florida, pyriform scale, Protopulvinaria Pyrformis, and Florida wax scale, Ceroplastes floridensis, are common, and the lesser snow scale, Pinnaspis strachani, infests the trunks of small trees and lower branches of large trees. Heavy attacks may result in cracking of the bark and oozing of sap.

The citrus thrips, Scirtothrips aurantii, blemishes the fruit in some mango-growing areas. The red-banded thrips, Selenothrips rubrocinctus, at times heavily infests mango foliage in Florida, killing young leaves and causing shedding of mature leaves. Mealybugs, Phenacoccus citri and P. mangiferae, and Drosicha stebbingi and D. mangiferae may infest young leaves, shoots and fruits. The mango stem borer, Batocera rufomaculata invades the trunk. Leaves and shoots are preyed on by the caterpillars of Parasa lepida, Chlumetia transversa and Orthaga exvinacea. Mites feed on mango leaves, flowers and young fruits. In Florida, the most common is the avocado red mite, Paratetranychus yothersii.

Mistletoe (Loranthus and Viscum spp.) parasitizes and kills mango branches in India and tropical America. Dr. B. Reddy, Regional Plant Production and Protection Officer, FAO, Bangkok, compiled an extensive roster of insects, mites, nematodes, other pests, fungi, bacteria and phanerogamic parasites in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region (1975).

One of the most serious diseases of the mango is powdery mildew (Oidium mangiferae), which is common in most growing areas of India, occurs mostly in March and April in Florida. The fungus affects the flowers and causes young fruits to dehydrate and fall, and 20% of the crop may be lost. It is controllable by regular spraying. In humid climates, anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Glomerella cingulata) affects flowers, leaves, twigs, fruits, both young and mature. The latter show black spots externally and the corresponding flesh area is affected. Control measures must be taken in advance of flowering and regularly during dry spells. In Florida, mango growers apply up to 20 sprayings up to the cut-off point before harvesting. The black spots are similar to those produced by AIternaria sp. often associated with anthracnose in cold storage in India. Inside the fruits attacked by AIternaria there are corresponding areas of hard, corky, spongy lesions. Inasmuch as the fungus enters the stem-end of the fruit, it is combatted by applying Fungicopper paste in linseed oil to the cut stem and also by sterilizing the storage compartment with Formalin 1:20. A pre-harvest dry stem-end rot was first noticed on ‘Tommy Atkins’ in Mexico in 1973, and it has spread to all Mexican plantings of this cultivar causing losses of 10-80% especially in wet weather. Fusarium, Alternaria and Cladosporium spp. were prominent among associated fungi.

Malformation of inflorescence and vegetative buds is attributed to the combined action of Fusarium moniliforme and any of the mites, Aceria mangifera, Eriophyes sp., Tyrophagus castellanii, or Typhlodromus asiaticus. This grave problem occurs in Pakistan, India, South Africa and Egypt, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela, but not as yet in the Philippines. It is on the increase in India. Removing and burning the inflorescence has been the only remedy, but it has been found that malformation can be reduced by a single spray of NAA (200 mg in 50 ml alcohol with water added to make 1 liter) in October, and deblooming in early January.

There are 14 types of mango galls in India, 12 occurring on the leaves. The most serious is the axillary bud gall caused by Apsylla cistellata of the family Psyllidae.

In Florida, leaf spot is caused by Pestalotia mangiferae, Phyllosticta mortoni, and Septoria sp.; algal leaf spot, or green scurf by Cephaleuros virescens. In 1983, a new disease, crusty leaf spot, caused by the fungus, Zimmermaniella trispora, was reported as common on neglected mango trees in Malaya. Twig dieback and dieback are from infection by Phomopsis sp., Physalospora abdita, and P. rhodina. Wilt is caused by Verticillium alboatrum; brown felt by Septobasidium pilosum and S. pseudopedicellatum; wood rot, by Polyporus sanguineus; and scab by Elsinoe mangiferae (Sphaceloma mangiferae). Cercospora mangiferae attacks the fruits in the Congo.

A number of organisms in India cause white sap, heart rot, gray blight, leaf blight, white pocket rot, white spongy rot, sap rot, black bark and red rust. In South Africa, Asbergillus attacks young shoots and fruit rot is caused by A. niger. Gloeosporium mangiferae causes black spotting of fruits. Erwinia mangiferae and Pseudomonas mangiferaeindicae are sources of bacterial black spot in South Africa and Queensland. Bacterium carotovorus is a source of soft rot. Stem-end rot is a major problem in India and Puerto Rico from infection by Physalospora rhodina (Diplodia natalensis). Soft brown rot develops during prolonged cold storage in South Africa.

Leaf tip burn may be a sign of excess chlorides. Manganese deficiency is indicated by paleness and limpness of foliage followed by yellowing, with distinct green veins and midrib, fine brown spots and browning of leaf tips. Inadequate zinc is evident in less noticeable paleness of foliage, distortion of new shoots, small leaves, necrosis, and stunting of the tree and its roots. In boron deficiency, there is reduced size and distortion of new leaves and browning of the midrib. Copper deficiency is seen in paleness of foliage and severe tip-bum with gray-brown patches on old leaves; abnormally large leaves; also die-back of terminal shoots; sometimes gummosis of twigs and branches. Magnesium is needed when young trees are stunted and pale, new leaves have yellow-white areas between the main veins and prominent yellow specks on both sides of the midrib. There may also be browning of the leaf tips and margins. Lack of iron produces chlorosis in young trees.

Fig. 61: Low-fiber mangoes are easily prepared for the table by first cutting off the “cheeks” which can then be served for eating by spooning the flesh from the “shell”.

Fig. 64: A low-fiber, green-skinned mango on the market in Merida, Yucatan, is mounted on a lollipop stick. The fruit may be peeled and the flesh deeply cut to resemble the petals of a flower.

Food Uses

Mangos should always be washed to remove any sap residue, before handling. Some seedling mangos are so fibrous that they cannot be sliced; instead, they are massaged, the stem-end is cut off, and the juice squeezed from the fruit into the mouth. Non-fibrous mangos may be cut in half to the stone, the two halves twisted in opposite directions to free the stone which is then removed, and the halves served for eating as appetizers or dessert. Or the two “cheeks” may be cut off, following the contour of the stone, for similar use; then the remaining side “fingers” of flesh are cut off for use in fruit cups, etc.

Most people enjoy eating the residual flesh from the seed and this is done most neatly by piercing the stem-end of the seed with the long central tine of a mango fork, commonly sold in Mexico, and holding the seed upright like a lollypop. Small mangos can be peeled and mounted on the fork and eaten in the same manner. If the fruit is slightly fibrous especially near the stone, it is best to peel and slice the flesh and serve it as dessert, in fruit salad, on dry cereal, or in gelatin or custards, or on ice cream. The ripe flesh may be spiced and preserved in jars. Surplus ripe mangos are peeled, sliced and canned in sirup, or made into jam, marmalade, jelly or nectar. The extracted pulpy juice of fibrous types is used for making mango halva and mango leather. Sometimes corn flour and tamarind seed jellose are mixed in. Mango juice may be spray-dried and powdered and used in infant and invalid foods, or reconstituted and drunk as a beverage. The dried juice, blended with wheat flour has been made into “cereal” flakes, A dehydrated mango custard powder has also been developed in India, especially for use in baby foods.

Ripe mangos may be frozen whole or peeled, sliced and packed in sugar (1 part sugar to 10 parts mango by weight) and quick-frozen in moisture-proof containers. The diced flesh of ripe mangos, bathed in sweetened or unsweetened lime juice, to prevent discoloration, can be quick-frozen, as can sweetened ripe or green mango puree. Immature mangos are often blown down by spring winds. Half-ripe or green mangos are peeled and sliced as filling for pie, used for jelly, or made into sauce which, with added milk and egg whites, can be converted into mango sherbet. Green mangos are peeled, sliced, parboiled, then combined with sugar, salt, various spices and cooked, sometimes with raisins or other fruits, to make chutney; or they may be salted, sun-dried and kept for use in chutney and pickles. Thin slices, seasoned with turmeric, are dried, and sometimes powdered, and used to impart an acid flavor to chutneys, vegetables and soup. Green or ripe mangos may be used to make relish.
Fig. 62: The long center tine of the mango fork is designed for piercing the base of the center section and right through the seed. With the strip of peel removed, the most flavorful flesh around the seed can be enjoyed like a lollipop.

In Thailand, green-skinned mangos of a class called “keo”, with sweet, nearly fiberless flesh and very commonly grown and inexpensive on the market, are soaked whole for 15 days in salted water before peeling, slicing and serving with sugar.

Processing of mangos for export is of great importance in Hawaii in view of the restrictions on exporting the fresh fruits. Hawaiian technologists have developed methods for steam- and lye-peeling, also devices for removing peel from unpeeled fruits in the preparation of nectar. Choice of suitable cultivars is an essential factor in processing mangos for different purposes.

The Food Research Institute of the Canada Department of Agriculture has developed methods of preserving ripe or green mango slices by osmotic dehydration,

The fresh kernel of the mango seed (stone) constitutes 13% of the weight of the fruit, 55% to 65% of the weight of the stone. The kernel is a major by-product of the mango-processing industry. In times of food scarcity in India, the kernels are roasted or boiled and eaten. After soaking to dispel the astringency (tannins), the kernels are dried and ground to flour which is mixed with wheat or rice flour to make bread and it is also used in puddings.

The fat extracted from the kernel is white, solid like cocoa butter and tallow, edible, and has been proposed as a substitute for cocoa butter in chocolate.

The peel constitutes 20% to 25% of the total weight of the fruit. Researchers in India have shown that the peel can be utilized as a source of pectin. Average yield on a dry-weight basis is 13%.

Immature mango leaves are cooked and eaten in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Food Value Per 100 g of Ripe Mango Flesh*

Fruit
Calories 62.1-63.7
Moisture 78.9-82.8 g
Protein 0.36-0.40 g
Fat 0.30-0.53 g
Carbohydrates 16.20-17.18 g
Fiber 0.85-1.06 g
Ash 0.34-0.52 g
Calcium 6.1-12.8 mg
Phosphorus 5.5-17.9 mg
Iron 0.20-0.63 mg
Vitamin A (carotene) 0.135-1.872 mg
Thiamine 0.020-0.073 mg
Riboflavin 0.025-0.068 mg
Niacin 0.025-0.707 mg
Ascorbic Acid 7.8-172.0 mg
Tryptophan 3-6 mg
Methionine 4 mg
Lysine 32-37 mg

*Minimum and maximum levels of food constituents derived from various analyses made in Cuba, Central America, Africa and India.

Puerto Rican analyses of 30 cultivars showed b-carotene as ranging from a low of 4,171 I.U./100 g in ‘Stringless Peach’ to a high of 7,900 I.U. in ‘Carrie’. Ascorbic acid ranged from 3.43 mg/100 g in ‘Keitt’ to 62.96 in ‘Julie’.

Seed Kernel**
Moisture 10.55-11.35%
Protein 4.76-8.5%
Fat 6-15%
Starch 40-72%
Sugar 1.07%
Fiber 1.17-2.6%
Ash 1.72-3.66%
Silica 0.41%
Iron 0.03%
Calcium 0.11-0.23%
Magnesium 0.34%
Phosphorus 0.21-0.66%
Sodium 0.28%
Potassium 1.31%
Sulfur 0.23%
Carbonate 0.09%

**According to analyses made in India and Cuba.

Indian analyses of the mango kernel reveal the amino acids–alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cystine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, at levels lower than in wheat and gluten. Tannin content may be 0.12-0.18% or much higher in certain cultivars.

Kernel Flour*
Protein 5.56%
Fat 16.17%
Carbohydrates 69.2%
Ash (minerals) 0.35%

*It is said to be equal to rice in food value, if tannin-free.

Kernel Fat
Fully saturated glycerides 14.2%
Mono-oleoglycerides 24.2%
Di-oleoglycerides 60.8%
Tri-unsaturated glycerides 0.8%
Fatty Acids:
Mysristic 0.69%
Palmitic 4.4-8.83%
Stearic 33.96-47.8%
Arachidic 2.7-6.74%
Oleic 38.2-49.78%
Linoleic 4.4-5.4%
Linolenic 0.5%

Leaves (immature)
Moisture 78.2%
Protein 3.0%
Fat 0.4%
Carbohydrates 16.5%
Fiber 1.6%
Ash 1.9%
Calcium 29 mg/100 g
Phosphorus 72 mg
Iron 6.2 mg
Vitamin A (carotene) ß 1,490 I.U.
Thiamine 0.04 mg
Riboflavin 0.06 mg
Niacin 2.2 mg
Ascorbic Acid** 53 mg/100g

**According to various analyses made in India.

Toxicity

The sap which exudes from the stalk close to the base of the fruit is somewhat milky at first, also yellowish-resinous. It becomes pale-yellow and translucent when dried. It contains mangiferen, resinous acid, mangiferic acid, and the resinol, mangiferol. It, like the sap of the trunk and branches and the skin of the unripe fruit, is a potent skin irritant, and capable of blistering the skin of the normal individual. As with poison ivy, there is typically a delayed reaction. Hypersensitive persons may react with considerable swelling of the eyelids, the face, and other parts of the body. They may not be able to handle, peel, or eat mangos or any food containing mango flesh or juice. A good precaution is to use one knife to peel the mango, and a clean knife to slice the flesh to avoid contaminating the flesh with any of the resin in the peel.

The leaves contain the glucoside, mangiferine. In India, cows were formerly fed mango leaves to obtain from their urine euxanthic acid which is rich yellow and has been used as a dye. Since continuous intake of the leaves may be fatal, the practice has been outlawed.

When mango trees are in bloom, it is not uncommon for people to suffer itching around the eyes, facial swelling and respiratory difficulty, even though there is no airborne pollen. The few pollen grains are large and they tend to adhere to each other even in dry weather. The stigma is small and not designed to catch windborne pollen. The irritant is probably the vaporized essential oil of the flowers which contains the sesquiterpene alcohol, mangiferol, and the ketone, mangiferone.

Mango wood should never be used in fireplaces or for cooking fuel, as its smoke is highly irritant.

Other Uses

Seed kernels: After soaking and drying to 10% moisture content, the kernels are fed to poultry and cattle. Without the removal of tannins, the feeding value is low. Cuban scientists declare that the mineral levels are so low mineral supplementation is needed if the kernel is used for poultry feed, for which purpose it is recommended mainly because it has little crude fiber.

Seed fat: Having high stearic acid content, the fat is desirable for soap-making. The seed residue after fat extraction is usable for cattle feed and soil enrichment.

A mango stone decorticator has been designed and successfully operated by the Agricultural Engineering Department of Pantnagar University, India.

Wood: The wood is kiln-dried or seasoned in saltwater. It is gray or greenish-brown, coarse-textured, medium-strong, hard, durable in water but not in the ground; easy to work and finishes well. In India, after preservative treatment, it is used for rafters and joists, window frames, agricultural implements, boats, plywood, shoe heels and boxes, including crates for shipping tins of cashew kernels. It makes excellent charcoal.

Bark: The bark possesses 16% to 20% tannin and has been employed for tanning hides. It yields a yellow dye, or, with turmeric and lime, a bright rose-pink.

Gum: A somewhat resinous, red-brown gum from the trunk is used for mending crockery in tropical Africa. In India, it is sold as a substitute for gum arabic.

Medicinal Uses: Dried mango flowers, containing 15% tannin, serve as astringents in cases of diarrhea, chronic dysentery, catarrh of the bladder and chronic urethritis resulting from gonorrhea. The bark contains mangiferine and is astringent and employed against rheumatism and diphtheria in India. The resinous gum from the trunk is applied on cracks in the skin of the feet and on scabies, and is believed helpful in cases of syphilis.

Mango kernel decoction and powder (not tannin-free) are used as vermifuges and as astringents in diarrhea, hemorrhages and bleeding hemorrhoids. The fat is administered in cases of stomatitis. Extracts of unripe fruits and of bark, stems and leaves have shown antibiotic activity. In some of the islands of the Caribbean, the leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diarrhea, fever, chest complaints, diabetes, hypertension and other ills. A combined decoction of mango and other leaves is taken after childbirth.

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Related Species
Of approximately 40 other species of Mangifera, a few are cultivated for their fruits and several have been employed as rootstocks for the mango in Malaya.

M. sylvatica Roxb., is a large tree to 150 ft (45 m) growing wild in the eastern Himalayas, Nepal and the Andaman Islands, from 980 to 4,200 ft (300-1,300 m). The elliptic fruit, 3 1/4 to 4 in (8-10 cm) long, has yellow skin and fiberless, though rather thin, flesh. It is mostly utilized while still unripe for pickles and other preserves. The tree is valued mainly for its timber which is largely sapwood, light in weight and easily worked but medium-hard and strong.

M. foetida Lour., the horse mango, is a handsome, well-formed tree, 60 to 80 ft (18-24 m) tall with very stiff leaves and showy particles of pink-red, odorless flowers. The fruit is oblong, 3 to 5 1/2 in (7.5-16 cm) long, plump, with yellowish- or grayish-green skin when ripe. The flesh is variable, in some types orange, acid, strongly turpentine-scented; in others, pale-yellow, sweet in flavor and mildly aromatic. All types are fibrous and the stone has much fiber. Sweet types are eaten raw when ripe; others are used for pickles, chutneys and in curries. The sap of the tree and the immature fruit is highly irritating.

M. caesia Jack, ranging from 65 to 150 ft (20-45 m) at low altitudes in Malaysia and the Philippines, is frequently cultivated in Indonesia. The flowers are blue or lavender. Strongly and, to some people, unpleasantly aromatic, the fruit is oval to pear-shaped, 4 1/4 to 6 in (11-15 cm) long, with thin, pale-green or light-brown, scurfy skin which clings to the white or pale-yellow, juicy, fibrous flesh. Quality is highly variable; some types being subacid to sweet and agreeable and these are commonly eaten in Malaya. The seed is large and pink, enclosed in matted fibers; edible; monoembryonic. Young leaves are eaten raw. The sap of the tree and immature fruits is exceedingly irritant.

M. odorata Griff. is a medium to large tree, 60 to 80 ft (15-24 m) high, better suited than the mango to humid regions and much cultivated from Malaya to the Philippines where it is more familiar than the mango in eastern Mindanao. The flowers are whitish to yellowish and very fragrant. The fruit is round-oblique, somewhat oblate; to 5 in (12.5 cm) long, plump, with green or yellow-green, thick, tough skin. When ripe the flesh is pale-orange or yellowish, fibrous and resinous but juicy and sweet, though most types are distinctly turpentine -flavored. Nevertheless, all types are popular for curries and pickles. The stone is large with many coarse fibers. The sap of this tree is said to be fairly mild, but the milky sap of the immature fruit extremely acrid.

In addition to the above, Malayan villagers occasionally cultivate some lesser-known species: M. longipetiolata King, M. maingayi Hook f., M. kemanga Blume, and M. pentandra Hook f.

The gandaria, Plate XXIX, Bouea gandaria Blume (syn. B. macrophylla Griff.), is also called kundangan, kundang, setar, star and rumia in Malaya; gandareed in Java; ma-prang in Thailand. The tree, usually to 30 ft (9 m), sometimes to 60 ft (18 m), is short-trunked with resinous sap, drooping branches and evergreen, opposite, resinous, leathery, downward-pointing leaves 4 to 12 in (10-30 cm) long, 2 to 4 1/2 in (5-11.25 cm) wide. They are purple-red and silky when they first appear. Small, greenish flowers are borne in pendent panicles to 5 in (12.5 cm) in length. The fruit, like a miniature mango, is oval, round or oblong-ovoid, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 in (4-6.25 cm) long, with thin, smooth, brittle, edible skin, yellow or apricot-colored when ripe. The yellow or orange pulp is juicy, varies from acid to sweet, and adheres to the leathery, whiskered stone. There is great variation in the fruits of seedling trees, especially in the degree of “turpentine” odor. The tree is native to Malaya and Sumatra; is frequently cultivated, either from seed or air-layers, in its natural range and also rather widely through Malaysia and the fruits are sold in markets. They are made into jam and chutney. When still immature, they are pickled in brine and used in curries. In Indonesia, the young leaves are marketed and eaten raw with rice. Budwood of a cultivar named ‘Wan’, meaning “sweet”, was obtained by William F. Whitman from an orchard near Bangkok in 1967. His resulting grafted tree, in a protected location in South Florida, fruited in 1974. Earlier introductions (1935, 1936 and 1938) by the Agricultural Research and Education Center in Homestead failed to survive.

A lesser species, B. oppositifolia Adelb. (syn. B. microphylla Griff.), is called plum mango, rembunia, gemis, or rumia in Malaya; ma-pring in Thailand. The tree is similar but deciduous, smaller in all its parts, and the fruit is orange or yellow and only 1 in (2.5 cm) long, acid and usually cooked when half-ripe. This species is abundant wild in lowland forests of Malaya and much cultivated as a shade tree. The wood is hard and very heavy, sinks in water, and is used for houseposts.

Food Value

Fruits from a 20-year-old gandaria tree (Bouea gandaria Blume) in the Lancetilla Experimental Garden, Tela, Honduras, were analyzed in 1950 and the following values were reported:

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion

Moisture 85.2 g
Protein 0.112 g
Fat 0.04g
Fiber 0.6 g
Ash 0.23 g
Calcium 6.0 mg
Phosphorus 10.8 mg
Iron 0.31 mg
Carotene 0.043 mg
Thiamine 0.031 mg
Riboflavin 0.025 mg
Niacin 0.286 mg
Ascorbic Acid 75.0 mg

Prepared Jan., 2002

General Production Information

The mango acreage for 2000 was reported to be 1,675 acres, which represents approximately 168,000 trees. Mango acreage has been constant at the 1,700 to 1,800 acre range since Hurricane Andrew struck in fall of 1992. Prior to this event, production in the state was near 3,000 acres (1).
In the last year for which production statistics are available (1997), a reported mango crop of 100,000 bushels (5.5 million pounds) was harvested. At a price of $14.50 per bushel, this crop was worth $1.45 million. This figure represented a 16 percent decrease in value ($1.72 million) from the 1995 crop (2).
Since Hurricane Andrew, only 325 acres have been replanted, and no mango trees were reportedly planted in 2000 (1).
Over eighty percent of mango production occurs in Miami-Dade County. The remaining acreage is located in counties in the vicinity of Miami-Dade County (1).
No other state reported the production of mangos. Consequently, Florida is the main United States producer of this fruit (2).
As of 1996, mango comprised about 11 percent of the tropical fruit acreage in Miami-Dade County, and was third behind avocado and lime in acreage and value (3).
An estimated 80 percent of mango sales ($1.38 million) were made outside of Miami-Dade county in 1995 (3).
Production Regions:
Mango (Mangifera indica) is grown primarily in south Florida. In 2000, 83 percent of Florida’s mango acreage was located in Miami-Dade County. The remainder of mango acreage is located in Lee, Palm Beach, and other counties with the appropriate climate (1,4).

Production Practices:
The mango tree is classified as an evergreen and is in the Anacardiaceae family. It is a plant that is indigenous to India and Southeast Asia and was first introduced into Florida in 1833. The tree can grow to a height of 100 feet but it is generally maintained at a height of 20 feet for ease of harvest and maintenance. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate shaped, and six to 16 inches in length. The fruit vary in shape (kidney, round, oblong, oval) and weight ranges from a few ounces to five pounds. Although the fruit will ripen on the tree, it is usually picked green for shipment. The crop is considered mature when the shoulder of the fruit broadens (fills out) and some fruits on the tree have begun to change color from green to yellow. Prior to this color change, the fruit is considered mature when the flesh near the seed changes color from white to yellow (4).

Mango should be planted in soil with adequate drainage, although some varieties withstand flooding for brief periods. Prolonged flooding leads to leaf wilt/desiccation, stem dieback, reduced growth, and tree death. Since mango is adapted to lowland subtropical and tropical climates, it does have a high water requirement. During seedling establishment and dry periods, irrigation systems should be able to provide supplemental irrigation (4).

Cultivars commonly used in Florida mango production are “Tommy Atkins” and “Keitt” as well as “Palmer”, “Van Dyke”, and “Kent.” Rootstocks used include “Turpentine” and “Number 11.” These rootstocks are tolerant of high pH and seedlings are vigorous and relatively uniform. Mango cultivars are classified as monoembryonic (Indian type) and polyembryonic (Indochinese type). The former are those cultivated in Florida while the latter serve as rootstock. Consequently, most commercial mango is propagated vegetatively. Veneer-grafting and chip-budding techniques are most often used with greatest success in warm months. Grafted trees produce marketable fruit within three to five years (4,5).

Mango trees are planted from 10 to 30 feet apart within rows and from 20 to 30 feet between rows. Consequently, a mature stand would have about 100 trees per acre. Formative pruning of young trees is not necessary. Commercial producers periodically cut back growth to allow better penetration of sprays and ease of picking. Pruning is performed mechanically after fruit harvest, which is generally done two to four times per season (4).

The mango inflorescence may possess 1,000 to 4,000 flowers, however, less than one fruit per panicle is set by most commercial mango varieties. Despite this, yields of 165 to 440 pounds of fruit per tree may be produced. Mango blooms from December to April, depending on variety, and the fruit takes 100 to 150 days to mature. Consequently, the greatest production in Florida is from May through September. Pollination is by insects such as thrips, flies, and bees. A dry season prior to and during the blooming period is considered optimal for good fruit production (4).

Mango trees are picked by hand or by using a long picking pole which has at its distal end a canvas or nylon bag attached to a metal ring with a cutting blade. Ladders and hydraulic lifts are also used to enable pickers to reach fruit high in the tree canopy. The best temperatures for ripening mangos are 70-75F (21-24C). Fruit ripened at higher temperatures often shrivels and develops off-flavors. Fruit can be held at temperatures no colder than 55F (13C) to delay ripening (4).

Computer-aided pest management of tropical fruit has been implemented by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The TFRUIT•Xpert diagnostic program has been developed to assist growers and others in determining diseases, insect pest problems and physiological disorders (http://it.ifas.ufl.edu/software/tropicalfruits-cd.html).

Insect Pests

The principal pests on mango in Florida are mites (avocado red mite, mango spider mite, mango bud mite), scales (dictyospermum scale, Florida red scale, Florida wax scale, pyriform scale, oleander scale, mango scale, plumose scale), thrips (redbanded, flower), and ambrosia beetles. Minor and occasional pests include aphids, mealybugs, and whiteflies/blackflies (4,6).

MITES (Oligonychus yothersi, Oligonychus mangiferus, Aceria mangiferae)

Spider mites of the genus Oligonychus commonly infest mangos in Florida. Feeding is first confined to the upper leaf surface, along the midrib, and then along secondary veins. The areas along the veins become reddish-brown. Damage by the spider mites is regularly observed from October through February causing a reduction in photosynthesis of up to 30 percent. Infested leaves often abscise prematurely. Control measures are often started when mite pressures reach six or more mites per leaf. For spider mites in general, life cycles may last several weeks. The female lays 40 to 50 eggs over a lifetime, and they are capable of overwintering within the grove (6).

Mango bud mite (A. mangiferae) is found on buds and is associated with two diseases depending on the presence of Fusarium sp. fungi. When the fungus is absent and the buds are attacked, a witches’ broom develops at the terminal branch. When the fungus is present, galls form on flowers and foliage (6).

SCALE (Chrysomphalus dictyospermi, Chrysomphalus aonidum, Ceroplastes floridensis, Protopulvinaria pyriformis, Aspidiotus nerii, Radionaspis indica, Morganella longispina)

Soft and armored scales are plant-feeding insects which are often controlled by natural and released parasites, predators, and pathogens. In cases when the natural balance of predation has been disrupted, scale populations may increase to levels requiring treatment. Since scale insects are relatively immobile and at least one month is required for the egg to reach the adult stage, an infestation builds up slowly (in comparison to mites or aphids) and may be hard to spot. It is also important to verify that the scale insects attached to the plant are alive, as mummies accumulate on the plant over time. Economic thresholds for scale have not been determined. Most effective control is obtained when the scales are in nymphal stages, as egg and adult stages are recalcitrant to insecticide applications (7).

THRIPS (Selenothrips rubrocinctus, Frankliniella bispinosa, Frankliniella kelliae)

The redbanded thrips is ubiquitous in its distribution throughout Florida, but it is generally found in damaging numbers from Orlando to Key West. Female redbanded thrips are slightly greater than 1 mm in length, and have a dark brown to black body underlain by red pigment, chiefly in the first three abdominal segments. The larvae is light yellow to orange, with the first three and last segments of the abdomen bright red. The life cycle of this thrips is about three weeks in Florida, and several generations are possible each year. In addition to attacking avocado and mango, this thrips also attacks sweetgum trees. Redbanded thrips prefer young foliage, which may lead to leaf drop, at times totally denuding trees. The frass and associated sooty mold from thrips feeding gives rise to fruit which is out-of-grade (8).

In Florida, the thrips complex consisting of the two Frankliniella species is the most frequently observed blossom pest. It causes damage by ovipositing in the panicle and feeding on the floral nectaries and anthers, which may result in premature loss of pollen. These thrips are light-yellow and appear commonly during the dry season from January to April (6).

AMBROSIA BEETLES (Xylosandrus spp.)

The scolytid beetles of this genus attack the main stem and branches of mango trees. Secondary fungal infections extend terminally and basally from the beetle gallery in the tree and can kill the affected branches. The insect prefers trees that have been weakened by stress (wind, drought, etc). However, once a population has been established in a planting, the infestation spreads to healthy trees (6).

Chemical Control:
In 1999-2000, 64 percent of responding mango growers surveyed reported insecticide use. Those survey respondents that provided insect damage estimates indicated that from 10 to 100 percent of the mango crop would be lost to insect damage (n=7, mean of 45 percent). Insecticides and miticides registered for use on Florida mango include azadirachtin (Margosan®), Bacillus thuringiensis (Targa®), Beauveria bassiana (Fermone Naturalis®), imidacloprid (Provado®), fenoxycarb (Logic® – for ants only on non-bearing trees), harpin protein (Messenger®), insecticidal oil (Sunspray®, JMS Stylet Oil®), insecticidal soap (Organica®), malathion, methidathion (Supracide®), pyrethrin (Pyrenone®), pyrethrin plus rotenone (Pyrellin®) and sulfur.

CROP OILS (Sunspray®, JMS Stylet Oil®):
Crop oils work by smothering immobile insects such as scales, aphids, and mites. The oils are usually made up as 1.5 to 3 percent solutions which are applied thoroughly to each tree. Price varies greatly based on amount and formulation used. The restricted entry interval (REI) for crop oils is 4 hours and there is no pre-harvest interval (9). In 1999-2000, 50 percent of surveyed mango growers in Florida applied oil to their acreage once (43 percent), twice (43 percent), or four times (14 percent) per season for an average use of 1.9 times per season.

MALATHION (Malathion 5 EC®):
Malathion is an organophosphorous compound which causes death by interfering with proper nerve transmission. Malathion is used to control a variety of insect pests (10). The median price of malathion is $5.44 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $5.10 per acre (10,11). The pre-harvest interval (PHI) is 2 days and the REI is 12 hours (10). In 1999-2000, 21 percent of surveyed mango growers in Florida applied malathion to their acreage three times (66 percent) or five times (33 percent) for an average use of 3.6 times per season.

METHIDATHION (Supracide®):
Methidathion is an organophosphate insecticide used to manage sucking insects such as scale and mealybug (6). The price of methidathion is $29.16 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $7.29 per acre (6,11). There is a maximum of five applications per year, and all applications must be made after harvest and before bloom. The REI is 48 hours (12). In 1999-2000, 36 percent of surveyed mango growers applied methidathion to their acreage once (60 percent), twice (20 percent), or three times (20 percent) for an average use of 1.6 times per season.

PYRETHRIN + ROTENONE (Pyrellin®):
These two natural compounds both have contact and stomach activity (13). The mixture is used to manage sucking and chewing insects. The median price of the mixture is $892.86 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $25.00 per acre (14,15). The PHI and REI are both 12 hours. In 1999-2000, 7 percent of mango growers reported the use of Pyrellin® twice a year.

BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS (Prolong®):
The biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) is used to manage lepidopteran larvae. The median price of B.t. is $140.16 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $13.18 per acre (11,16). B.t. may be applied up to the day of harvest (PHI= 0 day), and the REI is 4 hours (16). In 1999-2000, 7 percent of surveyed mango growers in Florida applied B.t. to their acreage twice per season.

IMIDACLOPRID (Provado®):
Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide which induces anti-feeding behavior particularly in sucking insects (13). The compound is used to manage thrips and whiteflies. The price of imidacloprid is $276.87 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $22.84 per acre (6,11). The PHI for imidacloprid is 30 days and the REI is 12 hours. No more than 0.083 pounds of active ingredient per acre may be applied per application and the seasonal maximum is 0.5 pounds of active ingredient. There must be seven days at a minimum between applications. The material is not to be applied during bloom or when bees are present (17). In 1999-2000, 7 percent of mango growers in Florida applied imidacloprid to their acreage once per season.

Alternative Control:
Several new “reduced impact” chemicals have been registered for use in mangos. Messenger® (harpin protein) and Naturalis® (Beauveria bassiana) are two products which are just now being assessed for insect management. Additionally, new strains of B.t. are reaching the market which are reportedly more toxic to a greater range of lepidopteran larvae.

Cultural Control:
Based on survey results of all tropical fruit growing respondents, 44 percent reported keeping records of pest problems, 50 percent adjusted applications (timing or rate) to protect beneficial insects and mites, and 52 percent alternated pesticides to reduce resistance. Sixty-two percent reported selecting the pesticide that is least toxic to beneficial insects and mites and 63 percent spot sprayed only infested plants or areas. Seventy percent reported selecting pesticides that are least toxic to the environment to make this the dominant form of cultural pest control.

Biological Control:
Seven percent of the responding tropical fruit growers reported release of predatory wasps for control of lepidopteran pests. Additionally, 30 percent reported the use of biological-derived pesticides like B.t.

Weeds

Weeds can reduce mango yields by competing primarily for water and nutrients. Although individual weed species may vary regionally, predominant weed species in groves are grasses, sedges, and pigweeds (18). However, species composition is less important as the trend has been toward use of non-selective, post-emergent herbicides.

Chemical Control:
There are three herbicides labeled for use on bearing mango (glyphosate, sulfosate, and pelargonic acid). Fluazifop-p-butyl can be used on non-bearing mango trees. All of these herbicides are used to control weeds between trees. In 1999-2000, 86 percent of mango growers surveyed reported herbicide use. Non-selective herbicides labeled for use in mango include glyphosate (Roundup®), pelargonic acid (Scythe®), and sulfosate (Touchdown®). All of these are post-emergence herbicides. Fluazifop-p-butyl (Fusilade®2000) is the only selective herbicide labeled for mango in Florida and it is also a post-emergence herbicide.

GLYPHOSATE (Roundup®):
Glyphosate is a phosphorylated amino acid herbicide used for total vegetation control. Glyphosate is applied as a directed spray so that mango foliage is not injured. The median price of glyphosate is $9.49 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $19.22 per acre for annual weeds and $48.04 for perennial weeds (11,19). The REI for glyphosate is 4 hours and the PHI is 14 days (19).In 1999-2000, 86 percent of surveyed mango growers in Florida applied glyphosate either one (8 percent), two (18 percent), three (8 percent), four (50 percent), five (8 percent), or six (8 percent) times for an average seasonal use of 3.6 times.

SULFOSATE (Touchdown®):
Sulfosate is similar to glyphosate in mode of action and it is also used for total vegetation control by directed spray. The median price of sulfosate is $8.80 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $13.20 per acre for annual weeds and $33.00 per acre for perennial weeds (11,20). The REI for sulfosate is 12 hours and the PHI is 14 days (20). Based on survey results, 7 percent of mango growers in Florida applied sulfosate once per season.

Diseases

Fungi and algae are responsible for the principal diseases affecting mango production in Florida. The most recurrent and problematic diseases include anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides/Glomerella cingulata), powdery mildew (Oidium spp.),scab (Elsinoe mangiferae), spot (Pestalotiopsis mangiferae, Phyllosticta anacardeacearum), and wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum). Algal spot (Cephaleuros virescens) may become prevalent in late summer through late winter. Other diseases that intermittently affect mango production are dieback (Botryodiplodia theobromae, Botrysphaeria ribis), stem-end rot (Diplodia spp., Phomopsis spp.) and witches’ broom (Fusarium subglutinans) (21,22).

ANTHRACNOSE (caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides/Glomerella cingulata)

Anthracnose can occur on all parts of the mango tree. Leaf infection starts as small, dark, angular to irregular spots which often coalesce to from large necrotic areas which may crack. Infections on the flower panicle appear as small brown or black spots which enlarge and often coalesce to cause the death of flowers. Small fruit are rapidly invaded by the fungus once they become infected. On nearly mature or ripe fruit, black spots coalesce to cover large areas, which may be sunken. Surface “tear staining” may be apparent on the fruit, which is due to spores falling from an inoculum source above the fruit (21,22).

POWDERY MILDEW (caused by Oidium spp.)

In severe attacks, the entire blossom panicle may be involved and fruit fail to set. Infected flowers, flower stalks, and young fruit become coated with the whitish powdery growth of the pathogen and the flowers and young infected fruits are similarly coated with the white fungal growth. Younger leaves may become distorted. On older leaves and fruit, infected tissue has a purplish-brown cast, as the white growth weathers away. The infection on fruit may also appear as an irregular blotch. Affected fruit may turn brown and fall off the tree. The disease is a particular problem in cool dry years (21,22).

SCAB (caused by Elsinoe mangiferae)

Scab is a pathogen of young leaves and colonization is favored in cool, wet conditions. Signs of scab on leaves are small spots on the underside of leaves which turn from dark-brown to gray. Leaves may become distorted and twisted if the infestation is heavy. Gray lesions on twigs may also be apparent. Fruit develops irregular, gray lesions which enlarge as it matures. The lesion centers become corky, cracked, and often exhibit the velvety growth of the fungus in moist weather (21).

LEAF SPOT (caused by Pestalotiopsis mangiferae and Phyllosticta anacardeacearum)

Both of these fungi cause leaf spot in mango, but with slightly different appearances. P. mangiferae spots are gray in color and irregular in shape. They may range from a few millimeters to several centimeters in diameter. P. EM>anacardeacearum leaf spots are bleached to white in color and can be numerous on leaves. Both fungi form black dot-like reproductive structures in the lesion centers (21).

ALGAL SPOT (caused by Cephaleuros virescens)

This alga commences colonization late in the summer and progresses through the winter months. Initially hard to visualize, green, yellow-green, or rust colored leaf spots up to 5 mm in size become raised and roughly circular. Stems may develop cankers where infestation is high. The alga eventually produces “spores” – which are rust colored. These will give rise to more algae if not controlled with copper sprays (21,22).

VERTICILLIUM WILT (caused by Verticillium albo-atrum)

This soil-borne fungus is more prevalent in trees planted in historic areas of solanaceous crop production. The fungus invades water-conducting structures in the roots, causing a persistent wilt, that is often one-sided on the tree. Brown or gray streaks may be observed in the vascular tissue, once the bark is peeled away. Leaves may die for lack of water, but remain attached for some time. Trees also may flush out with new shoots several months after collapse, apparently recovered from the infection (21,22).

Chemical Control:
In 1999-2000, 93 percent of mango growers surveyed reported fungicide use. Those survey respondents that provided damage estimates indicated that from 5 to 100 percent of the mango crop would be lost to disease (n=13, mean of 73 percent). Fungicides registered for use on mango include mefenoxam (Ridomil Gold®), benomyl (Benlate®), copper (Kocide®/Basicop®), sulfur (Thiolux®), carbonic acid (Armicarb®), and ferbam (Ferbam Granuflo®).

COPPER (Kocide®/Basicop®):
Copper has long been used as a fungicide and can be applied in multiple forms (copper hydroxide, copper sulfate, etc.). Copper is used to manage anthracnose, scab, and algal spot (21). The median price of copper hydroxide is $2.11 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $13.00 per acre (11,23). The PHI and REI for copper hydroxide are 0 day and 24 hours, respectively (23). Based on survey results, 79 percent of mango growers in Florida applied copper either twice (9 percent), four times (9 percent), five times (18 percent), six times (37 percent), eight times (9 percent) or ten times (18 percent) per season for an average seasonal use of 6.2 times.

SULFUR (Thiolux®):
As with copper, sulfur has long been used as a fungicide and can be applied in the form of copper sulfate or elemental sulfur. Sulfur is used to manage powdery mildew and anthracnose (as well as mites occasionally). The median price of sulfur is $0.88 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $21.12 per acre (11,21). The PHI and REI for sulfur are 0 day and 24 hours, respectively (24). Based on survey results, 50 percent of mango growers in Florida applied sulfur either twice (44 percent), four times (14 percent), six times (14 percent), eight times (14 percent), or ten times (14 percent) per season for an average use of 4.8 times.

FERBAM (Ferbam Granuflo®):
Ferbam is a iron-containing dithiocarbamate fungicide that is used to manage anthracnose in mango under a special local needs registration. The median price of ferbam is $4.34 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $16.49 per acre (25). The PHI and REI for ferbam are 0 day and 24 hours, respectively. No more than 60.8 pounds of active ingredient may be applied per season (25). Based on survey results, 43 percent of mango growers in Florida applied ferbam once (17 percent), twice (32 percent), ten times (17 percent), twelve times (17 percent), or sixteen times (17 percent) per season for an average use of 7.3 times.

BENOMYL (Benlate®):
Benomyl is a systemic, benzimidazole fungicide used to manage anthracnose, scab, and powdery mildew (21). The median price of benomyl is $32.40 per pound of active ingredient and the approximate cost per application is $32.40 per acre (11,26). The PHI and REI for benomyl are 14 days and 24 hours, respectively. There is a use restriction of three pounds of active ingredient per year (26). Based on survey results, 36 percent of mango growers in Florida applied benomyl either once (20 percent), twice (20 percent), four times (20 percent), six times (20 percent), or ten times (20 percent) per season for an average use of 4.6 times. Benomyl production ceased in spring of 2001.

Alternative Control:
Several new “reduced impact” chemicals have been registered for use in mango. Messenger® (harpin protein) and Armicarb® (monopotassium carbonic acid) are two products which are now being assessed for disease management.

Post-harvest Control:
Careful handling during and after harvest, removal of infected mangos during grading, and adequate temperature maintenance can all aid in minimizing losses from post-harvest decays. In addition to the causative agent of anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), post-harvest disease organisms that can cause rotting include Diplodia spp. and Phomopsis spp. (21).

Nematodes

Plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic roundworms, found in soils, which primarily attack plant roots. General signs of nematode damage include stunting, premature wilting, leaf yellowing, root malformation, and related symptoms characteristic of nutrient deficiencies. Stunting and poor stand development tend to occur in patches throughout the field as a result of the irregular distribution of nematodes within the soil.

Nematodes associated with mango include Rotylenchulus reniformis, Criconemella sphaerocephala, Helicotylenchus dihystera, and Hemicriconemoides mangiferae. H. mangiferae is known to be pathogenic to mango trees, as well as sapodilla and tamarind, and infestations of this nematode induce a slow decline of mango (27,28).

Chemical Control:
The only products registered for use on mango in Florida that claim nematode suppression are Messenger® (harpin protein) and Ditera® (fermentation products of Myrothecium verrucaria strain AARC-0255). These products have recently been registered and are just now being assessed for nematode management. Harpin protein activates the systemic acquired resistance of a plant, using the endogenous “immune” system of the plant to ward off nematode attack. Myrothecium verrucaria is a soil fungus that affects juvenile and adult nematodes as well as egg development (13).

Contacts

Jonathan Crane is an associate professor of horticultural science located at the Tropical Research and Education Center in South Florida. He is responsible for research and extension duties associated with tropical fruit. Dr. Crane can be reached at:

TREC
18905 SW 280th St.
PO Box 111569
Homestead, FL 33031-3314
(305) 246-7001, jhcr@mail.ifas.ufl.edu.

Michael Aerts is the assistant director of the Environmental and Pest Management Division of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association. He facilitates communication between commodity groups and regulatory agencies. Mr. Aerts can be reached at:

FFVA
4401 E. Colonial Drive
Box 140155
Orlando, FL 32814
407) 894-1351
maerts@ffva.com.

Mark Mossler is a pesticide information specialist for the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department’s Pesticide Information Office at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He is responsible for providing pesticide information to the public and governmental agencies. Mr. Mossler can be reached at:

UF/IFAS PIO
Box 110710
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-4721
mamossler@mail.ifas.ufl.edu.

References

Tropical Fruit Acres and Trees. 2000. Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, Orlando, FL. Available: http://www.nass.usda.gov/fl/citrus/tfat00.htm.

Tropical Fruit Production and Value. 2001. Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, Orlando, FL. Available: http://www.nass.usda.gov/fl/citrus/tfpv01.htm.

Degner, R.L., Moss, S.D., and Mulkey, W.D. August 1997. University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Report: Economic Impact of Agriculture and Agribusiness in Dade County, Florida. Florida Agricultural Market Research Center Industry Report 97-1. Gainesville, FL.

Crane, J.H. and Campbell, C.W. April 1994. The Mango. Horticultural Sciences Fact Sheet HS-2. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG216.

Cooper, A., Poirier, S., Murphy, M., Oswald, M.J., and Procise, C. July 1998. South Florida Tropicals: Mango. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HE625.

Pena, J. and Johnson, F. October 1998. Insect Management in Mango. Department of Entomology and Nematology Document ENY-413. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG073.

Browning, H.W. and Knapp, J.L. October 2000. 2001 Florida Citrus Pest Management Guide: Scale Insects. Fact Sheet ENY-604. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/CG004.

Denmark, H.A. and Wolfenbarger, D.O. July 1999. Redbanded Thrips. Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry Featured Creatures web site. Available: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/thrips/redbanded_thrips.htm.

JMS Flower Farms Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=126.

Microflo Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=25.

DPRA. March 2001. AGCHEMPRICE, Current U.S.A. Prices of Non-Fertilizer Agricultural Chemicals. Summary Edition. DPRA Incorporated, Manhattan, KS.

Gowan Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=9.

Thomson, W.T. 2001. Agricultural Chemicals Book I Insecticides. Thomson Publications, Fresno, CA.

Personal communication with Wright Webb Corporation, Fort Myers, FL. August, 2001.

Personal communication with Triangle Chemicals, Statesboro, GA. August, 2001.

Cillus Technology Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=155.

Bayer Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=128.

Knapp, J.L. February 1999. Citrus Commodity: A Biologic and Economic Assessment of Pesticide Usage. USDA National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program Report No. 1-CA-99.

Monsanto Company Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=23.

Syngenta Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=153.

Simone, G.W. June 1999. Disease Control in Mango (Mangifera indica). Plant Pathology Department Document PDMG-V3-22. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PG016.

Pernezny, K. and Marlatt, R.B. December 1993. Some Common Diseases of Mango in Florida. Plant Pathology Department Document PP-23. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VH048.

Griffin Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=14.

UAP-West Labels. Available: http://www.cdms.net/manuf/mprod.asp?mp=156.

Personal communication with UCB Chemicals, Smyrna, GA. September, 2001.

DuPont Crop Protection – 2001. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DE.

McSorley, R., Campbell, C.W., and Goldweber, S. 1980. Observations on a Mango Decline in South Florida. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 93:132-133.

McSorley, R., and Parrado, J.L. 1982. Spatial Arrangement of Nematodes Around Four Species of Tropical Fruit Trees. Nematropica. Vol. 12, No. 2.

January, 2002

Over 500 named varieties (some say 1,000) have evolved and have been described in India. Perhaps some are duplicates by different names, but at least 350 are propagated in commercial nurseries. In 1949, K.C. Naik described 82 varieties grown in South India. L.B. and R.N. Singh presented and illustrated 150 in their monograph on the mangos of Uttar Pradesh (1956). In 1958, 24 were described as among the important commercial types in India as a whole, though in the various climatic zones other cultivars may be prominent locally. Of the 24, the majority are classed as early or mid-season:

Early:

‘Bombay Yellow’ (‘Bombai’)–high quality

‘Malda’ (‘Bombay Green’)

’01our’ (polyembryonic)–a heavy bearer.

‘Pairi’ (‘Paheri’, ‘Pirie’, ‘Peter’, ‘Nadusalai’, ‘grape’, ‘Raspuri’, ‘Goha bunder’)

‘Safdar Pasand’

‘Suvarnarekha’ (‘Sundri’)

Early to Mid-Season:

‘Langra’

‘Rajapuri’

Mid-Season:

‘Alampur Baneshan’–high quality but shy bearer

‘Alphonso’ (‘Badami’, ‘gundu’, ‘appas’, ‘khader’)–high quality

‘Bangalora’(‘Totapuri’, ‘collection’, ‘kili-mukku’, abu Samada’ in the Sudan)–of highest quality, best keeping, regular bearer, but most susceptible to seed weevil.

‘Banganapally’ (‘Baneshan’, ‘chaptai’, ‘Safeda’)–of high quality but shy bearer

‘Dusehri’ (‘Dashehari aman’, ‘nirali aman’, ‘kamyab’)–high quality

‘Gulab Khas’

‘Zardalu’

‘K.O. 11′

Mid- to Late-Season:

‘Rumani’ (often bearing an off-season crop)

‘Samarbehist’ (‘Chowsa’, ‘Chausa’, ‘Khajri’)–high quality

‘Vanraj’

‘K.O. 7/5′ (‘Himayuddin’ ´ ‘Neelum’)

Late:

‘Fazli’ (‘Fazli malda’)–high quality

‘Safeda Lucknow’

Often Late:

‘Mulgoa’–high quality but a shy bearer

‘Neelum’ (sometimes twice a year)–somewhat dwarf, of indifferent quality, and anthracnose-susceptible.

Most of the leading Indian cultivars are seedling selections. Over 50,000 crosses were made over a period of 20 years in India and 750 hybrids were raised and screened. Of these, ‘Mallika’, a cross of ‘Neelum’ (female parent) with ‘Dashehari’ (male parent) was released for cultivation in 1972. The hybrid tends toward regular bearing, the fruits are showier and are thicker of flesh than either parent, the flavor is superior and keeping quality better. The season is nearly a month later than ‘Dashehari’. Another new hybrid, ‘Amrapali’, of which ‘Dashehari’ was the female parent and ‘Neelum’ the male, is definitely dwarf, precocious, a regular and heavy bearer, and late in the season. The fruit is only medium in size; flesh is rich orange, fiberless, sweet and 2 to 3 times as high in carotene as either parent.

The Central Food Technological Research Institute Experiment Station in Hyderabad has evaluated 9 “table varieties” (firm-fleshed), 4 “juicy” varieties, and 5 hybrids as to suitability for processing. ‘Baneshan’, ‘Suvarnarekha’ and ’5/5 Rajapuri’ ´ ‘Langra’ were deemed suitable for slicing and canning. ‘Baneshan’, ‘Navaneetam’, ‘Goabunder’, ‘Royal Special’, ‘Hydersaheb’ and ’9/4 Neelum Baneshan’, for canned juice; and ‘Baneshan’, ‘Navaneetam’, ‘Goabunder’, ‘K.O. 7′and ‘Sharbatgadi’ for canned nectar.

Fig. 63: ‘Black Cold’ mangoes, dark-green externally when ripe, are partly peeled like “radish roses” on the Bangkok market to show their yellow, fiberless flesh.

It is interesting to note that all but four of the leading Indian cultivars are yellow-skinned. The exceptions are: two yellow with a red blush on shoulders, one red-yellow with a blush of red, and one green. In Thailand, there is a popular mango called ‘Tong dum’ (‘Black Gold’) marketed when the skin is very dark-green and usually displayed with the skin at the stem end cut into points and spread outward to show the golden flesh in the manner that red radishes are fashioned into “radish roses” in American culinary art.

European consumers prefer a deep-yellow mango that develops a reddish-pink tinge. In Florida, the color of the mango is an important factor and everyone admires a handsome mango more or less generously overlaid with red. Red skin is considered a necessity in mangos shipped to northern markets, even though the quality may be inferior to that of non-showy cultivars. Also, dependable bearing and shippability are rated above internal qualities for practical reasons. And a shipping mango must be one that can be picked 2 weeks before full maturity without appreciable loss of flavor. Too, there must be several varieties to extend the season over at least 3 months.

Florida mangos are classed in 4 groups:

1–Indian varieties, mainly monoembryonic, introduced in the past and maintained mostly in collections; typically of somewhat “turpentine” character.

2–Philippine and Indo-Chinese types, largely polyembryonic, non-turpentiney, fiberless, fairly anthracnose-resistant. Scattered in dooryard plantings.

3–West Indian/South American mangos, especially ‘Turpentine’ and ‘No.11′ and the superior ‘Julie’ from Trinidad, ‘Madame Francis’ from Haiti, ‘Itamaraca’ from Brazil. These are non-commercial.

4–Florida-originated selections or cultivars, of which many have risen and declined over the decades.

In general, mangos from the Philippines (‘Carabao’) and Thailand (‘Saigon’, ‘Cambodiana’) behave better in Florida’s humidity than the Indian varieties.

The much-prized ‘Haden’ was being recognized in the late 1930′s and early 1940′s as anthracnose-prone, a light and irregular bearer, and was being replaced by more disease-resistant and prolific cultivars. The present-day leaders for commercial production and shipping are ‘Tommy Atkins’, ‘Keitt’, ‘Kent’, ‘Van Dyke’ and Jubilee’. The first 2 represent 50% of the commercial crop.

Plate XXVIII: MANGO, Mangifera indica–’Kent’, ‘Tommy Atkins’, and ‘Irwin’

‘Tommy Atkins’ (from a seed planted early in the 1920′s at Fort Lauderdale, Florida; commercially adopted in the late 1950′s); oblong-oval; medium to large; skin thick, orange-yellow, largely overlaid with bright- to dark-red and heavy purplish bloom, and dotted with many large, yellow-green lenticels. Flesh medium- to dark-yellow, firm, juicy, with medium fiber, of fair to good quality; flavor poor if over-fertilized and irrigated. Seed small. Season: mid-May to early July, or late June through July, depending on spring weather; can be picked early, developing good color and usually has long shelf-life. Sometimes there is an open space in the flesh at the stem-end. Interior softening near the seed occurs in some years. Anthracnose-resistant.

‘Keitt’–rounded-oval to ovate; large; skin medium-thick, yellow with light-red blush and a lavender bloom; the many lenticels small, yellow to red. Flesh orange-yellow, firm, fiberless except near the seed; of rich, sweet flavor; very good quality. Seed small, or medium to large. Season: early July through August or August and September, depending on spring weather. Tree small to medium, erect, open, rather scraggly but very productive. For market acceptance, requires post-harvest ethylene treatment to enhance color.

‘Kent’–ovate, thick; large; skin greenish-yellow with dark-red blush and gray bloom; many small, yellow lenticels. Flesh fiberless, juicy, sweet; very good to excellent. Seed small. Season: July and August and often into September, but if left on too long the seed tends to sprout in the fruit–a condition called ovipary. Subject to black spot. Tree is of erect, slender habit, of moderate size, precocious; bears very well and fruit ships well, but, for the market, needs ethylene treatment to enrich color.

‘Van Dyke’ and ‘Jubilee’ are relatively new cultivars maturing from late June through July. ‘Van Dyke’ is of superior color and excellent quality but subject to anthracnose and may not hold its place for long.

Two cultivars that have stood the test of time and have been shipped north on a lesser scale are:

‘Sensation’ (originated in North Miami; tree moved to Carmichael grove near Perrine and propagated and grown commercially since 1949). Oval, oblique, and faintly beaked; medium to medium-small; skin thin, adherent; basically yellow to yellow-orange overlaid with dark plum-red, and with tiny, pale-yellow lenticels. Flesh pale-yellow, firm, with very little fiber, faintly aromatic, of mild, slightly sweet flavor; of good quality. Monoembryonic. Tree bears heavily in August.

‘Palmer’–oblong-ovate, plump; large; skin medium-thick, orange-yellow with red blush and pale bloom and many large lenticels. Flesh dull-yellow, firm, with very little or no fiber; of fair to good quality. Seed long, of medium size. Season: July and August, sometimes into September. Tree is medium to large; precocious; usually bears well.

The leading cultivar for local market at present is:

‘Irwin’ (a seedling of ‘Lippens’, planted by F.D. Irwin of Miami in 1939; bore its first fruits in 1945); oblong-ovate, one shoulder oblique; of medium size; skin orange to pink with extensive dark-red blush and small, white lenticels. Seed of medium size. Flesh yellow, almost fiberless, with mild, sweet flavor; good to very good quality. Seed small. Season: mid-May to early July; or June through July. Tree somewhat dwarf; bears heavy crops of fruits in clusters. Fruit no longer shipped because if picked before full maturity ripens with a mottled appearance which is not acceptable on the market.

Plate XXVII: MANGO, Mangifera indica–’Cambodiana’

Non-colorful or not high-yielding cultivars of excellent quality recommended for Florida homeowners include:

‘Carrie’ (somewhat dwarf); ‘Edward’ (‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Florigon’; ‘Jacquelin’; ‘Cambodiana’; ‘Cecil’; ‘Saigon’.

Among cultivars formerly commercial but largely top-worked to others favored for various reasons: ‘Davis-Haden’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Fascell’; ‘Lippens’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Smith’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling); ‘Spring-fels’; ‘Dixon’; ‘Sunset’; ‘Zill’ (a ‘Haden’ seedling).

Many cultivars that have lost popularity in Florida have become of importance elsewhere. ‘Sandersha’, for example, has proved remarkably resistant to most mango fruit diseases in South Africa.

The histories and descriptions of 46 cultivars growing in Brazil were published in 1955. These included ‘Brooks’, ‘Cacipura’, ‘Cambodiana’, ‘Goa-Alphonso’, ‘Haden’, ‘Mulgoba’, ‘Pairi’, ‘Pico’, ‘Sandersha’, ‘Singapore’, ‘White Langra’, all brought in from Florida. The rest are mostly local seedlings. ‘Haden’ was introduced from Florida in 1931 and has been widely cultivated. It is still included among the cultivars of major importance, the others being ‘Extrema’, ‘Non-Plus-Ultra’. ‘Carlota’; but in 1977 the leading cultivar in Brazil was reported to be ‘Bourbon’, also known as ‘Espada’. It is found especially in northeastern Brazil but is recommended for all other mango areas. A collection of 53 cultivars is maintained at Piricicaba and another of 82 at Bahia.

Of Mexican mangos, 65% are Florida selections; 35% are of the type commonly grown in the Philippines. Over a period of 3 years detailed studies have been made of the commercial cultivars in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, with a view to determining the most profitable for export. Results indicated that propagation of ‘Purple Irwin’, ‘Red Irwin’, ‘Sensation’ and ‘Zill’ should be discontinued, and that ‘Haden’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Keitt’ will continue to be planted, the first two because, of their color and quality, and the third in spite of its deficiency in color.

‘Manila’, a Philippine mango, early-ripening, is much grown in Veracruz. ‘Manzanillo-Nunez’, a chance seedling first noticed in 1972, is gaining in popularity because of its regular bearing, skin color (75% red), nearly fiberless flesh, good quality, high yield and resistance to anthracnose.

‘Julie’ is the main mango exported from the West Indies to Europe. The fruit is somewhat flattened on one side, of medium size; the flesh is not completely fiberless but is of good flavor. It came to Florida from Trinidad but has long been popular in Jamaica. The tree is somewhat dwarf, has 30% to 50% hermaphrodite flowers; bears well and regularly. It is adaptable to humid environments and disease-resistant and the fruit is resistant to the fruit fly. ‘Julie’ has been grown in Ghana since the early 1920′s. From ‘Julie’, the well-known mango breeder, Lawrence Zill, developed ‘Carrie’, but ‘Julie’ has not been planted in Florida for many years.

Grafted plants of the ‘Bombay Green’, so popular in Jamaica, were brought there from India in 1869 by the then governor, Sir John Peter Grant, but were planted in Castleton gardens where the trees flourished but failed to fruit in the humid atmosphere. Years later, a Director of Agriculture had budwood from these trees transferred to rootstocks at Hope Gardens. The results were so successful that the ‘Bombay Green’ became commonly planted on the island. The author brought six grafted trees from Jamaica to Miami in 1951 and, after they were released from quarantine, distributed them to the Subtropical Experiment Station in Homestead, the Newcomb Nursery, and a private grower, but all succumbed to the cold in succeeding winters. The fruit is completely fiberless and freestone so that it is frequently served cut in half and eaten with a spoon. The seed is pierced with a mango fork and served also so that the luscious flesh that adheres to it may be enjoyed as well.

One of the best-known mangos peculiar to the West Indies is ‘Madame Francis’ which is produced abundantly in Haiti. It is a large, flattened, kidney-shaped mango, light-green, slightly yellowish when ripe, with orange, low-fiber, richly flavored flesh. This mango has been regularly exported to Florida in late spring after fumigation against the fruit fly.

Ghana received more than a dozen cultivars back in the early 1920′s. In 1973, it was found that only three of these–’Julie’, ‘Jaffna’ and ‘Rupee’–could be recognized with certainty. More than a dozen other cultivars were brought in much later from Florida and India. An effort was begun in 1967 to classify the seedlings (from 10 to 50 years of age) in the Ejura district, the Ejura Agricultural Station, and the plantation of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in order to eliminate confusion and have identifiable cultivars marked for future research. After checking with available published material on other cultivars for possible resemblances, descriptions and photographs of 21 newly named cultivars were published in 1973. Of these, 12 are fibrous and 9 fiberless. (See Godfrey-Sam-Aggrey and Arbutiste in the Bibliography). One of the fibrous cultivars, named ‘Tee-Vee-Dee’, is so well flavored and aromatic that it is locally extremely popular.

Until the mid-1960′s mangos were grown only in dooryards in Surinam and the few varieties were largely polyembryonic types from Indonesia, and these have given rise to many chance seedlings. In order to discover the best for commercial planting, mango exhibits were sponsored and budwood of the best selections has been grafted onto various rootstocks at the Paramaribo Agricultural Experiment Station. The two most important local mangos are:

‘Golek’ (from Java; also grown in Queensland) long-oblong; skin dull-green or yellowish-green even when ripe, leathery; flesh pale yellow, thick, fiberless, sweet, rich, of excellent quality. Keeps well in cold storage for 3 weeks. Season: early (December in Queensland). Tree bears moderately to heavily. This cultivar is considered the most promising for large-scale culture and export. In Queensland it tends to crack longitudinally as it matures.

‘Roodborstje’–medium to large; skin deep-red; flesh sweet, juicy, with very little fiber. Not a good keeper. Season: early to midseason. Tree is a heavy bearer.

In Venezuela, eleven cultivars were evaluated by food technologists for processing suitability–’Blackman’, ‘Glenn’, ‘Irwin’, ‘Kent’, ‘Lippens’, ‘Martinica’, ‘Sensation’, ‘Smith’, ‘Selection 80′, ‘Selection 85′, and ‘Zill’. The most appropriate, because of physicochemical characteristics and productivity were determined to be: ‘Glenn’, ‘Irwin’, ‘Kent’ and ‘Zill’.

In Hawaii, ‘Haden’ has represented 90% of all commercial production. ‘Pairi’ is more prized for home use but is a shy bearer, a poor keeper, not as colorful as ‘Haden’, so it never attained commercial status. In a search for earlier and later varieties of commercial potential, over 125 varieties were collected and tested between 1934 and 1969. In 1956, one of the winning entries in a mango contest attracted much attention. After propagation and due observation it was named ‘Gouveia’ in 1969 and described as: ovate-oblong, of medium size, with medium-thick, ochre-yellow skin blushed with blood-red over 2/3 of the surface. Flesh is orange, nearly fiberless, sweet, juicy. Seed is small, slender, monoembryonic. Season: late. Tree is of medium size, a consistent but not heavy bearer. In quality tests ‘Gouveia’ received top scoring over ‘Haden’, ‘Pairi’, and several other cultivars. Florida mangos rated as promising for Hawaii were ‘Pope’, ‘Kent’, ‘Keitt’ and ‘Brooks’ (later than ‘Haden’) and ‘Earlygold’ and ‘Zill’ (earlier than ‘Haden’).

In Queensland, ‘Kensington Pride’ is the leading commercial cultivar in the drier areas. In humid regions it is anthracnose-prone and requires spraying. It is thought to have been introduced by traders in Bowen who were shipping horses for military use in India. It may be called ‘Kensington’, ‘Bowen’, or, because of its color, ‘Apple’ or ‘Strawberry’. The fruit is distinctly beaked when immature, with a groove extending from the stem to the beak. It is medium-large; the skin is bright orange-yellow with red-pink blush overlying areas exposed to the sun. Flesh is orange, thick, nearly fiberless, juicy, of rich flavor. This cultivar is classified as mid-season. The fruit matures from early to mid-November at latitude 13°S; 6 weeks later at Bowen (20°S) and 1 week later for each degree of latitude from Bowen to Brisbane. But at 17°S and an altitude of 1,148 ft (350 m) peak maturity is in mid- to late-January. Polyembryonic. The fruit ships well but the tree is not a dependable nor heavy bearer. It has an oval crown and unusually sweet-scented leaves.

In 1981, after evaluating 43 accessions seeking to lengthen the mango season in Queensland, 9 that mature between 2 weeks earlier and 4 weeks later than ‘Kensington Pride’ were chosen for commercial testing. Only one, ‘Banana-1′, was a Queensland selection. The other 8 were introductions from Florida–’Smith’, ‘Palmer’, ‘Haden’, ‘Zill’, ‘Carrie’, ‘Irwin’, ‘Kent’, ‘Keitt’. ‘Kent’ and ‘Haden’ have proved to be highly susceptible to blackspot in Queensland; ‘Keitt’, ‘Smith’, and ‘Zill’ less so; and ‘Palmer’ and ‘Kensington Pride’ resistant.

In the Philippines, the ‘Carabao’ constitutes 66% of the crop and ‘Pico’ 26%. These cultivars, apparently of Southeast Asian origin have remained the most commonly grown and exported for many years.

In Israel, ‘Haden’ has been popular for a long time though it is sensitive to low temperatures in spring. An Egyptian introduction, ‘Mabroka’ is later in season and escapes the early frosts. ‘Maya’, a local seedling of ‘Haden’ has done well. Perhaps the most promising today is ‘Nimrod’, a seedling of ‘Maya’, open pollinated, perhaps by ‘Haden’, planted in 1943, observed for 20 years and budded progeny for another 9 years; named and released in 1970. The fruit is round-ovate, large; skin is fairly thin, olive-green to yellow-green, blushed with red; attractive. Flesh is deep-yellow, nearly fiberless, of fair flavor. Seed is large, monoembryonic. Matures in mid-season (all August to mid-September in Israel). Tree is large, upright, very cold-resistant. Average yield is 480 lbs (218 kg) per tree over 10 years.

It is impressive to see how the early favorite, ‘Haden’, has influenced mango culture in many parts of the world. Today, the Subtropical Horticulture Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research and Education Center of the University of Florida, together maintain 125 mango cultivars as a resource for mango growers and breeders in many countries.

In 1833, Dr. Henry Perrine shipped seedling mango plants from Yucatan to Cape Sable at the southern tip of mainland Florida but these died after he was killed by Indians. Seeds were imported into Miami from the West Indies by a Dr. Fletcher in 1862 or 1863. From these, two trees grew to large size and one was still fruiting in 1910 and is believed to have been the parent of the ‘No. 11′ which was commonly planted for many years thereafter. In 1868 or 1869, seeds were planted south of Coconut Grove and the resultant trees prospered at least until 1909, producing the so-called ‘Peach’ or ‘Turpentine’ mango which became fairly common. In 1872, a seedling of ‘No. 11′ from Cuba was planted in Bradenton. In 1877 and 1879, W.P. Neeld made successful plantings on the west coast but these and most others north of Ft. Myers were killed in the January freeze of 1886.

In 1885, seeds of the excellent ‘Bombay’ mango of India were brought from Key West to Miami and resulted in two trees which flourished until 1909. Plants of grafted varieties were brought in from India by a west coast resident, Rev. D.G. Watt, in 1885 but only two survived the trip and they were soon frozen in a cold spell. Another unsuccessful importation of inarched trees from Calcutta was made in 1888. Of six grafted trees that arrived from Bombay in 1889, through the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture, only one lived to fruit nine years later. The tree shipped is believed to have been a ‘Mulgoa’ (erroneously labeled ‘Mulgoba’, a name unknown in India except as originating in Florida). However, the fruit produced did not correspond to ‘Mulgoa’ descriptions. It was beautiful, crimson-blushed, just under 1 lb (454 g) with golden-yellow flesh. No Indian visitor has recognized it as matching any Indian variety. Some suggest that it was the fruit of the rootstock if the scion had been frozen in the freeze of 1894-95. At any rate, it continued to be known as ‘Mulgoba’, and it fostered many off-spring along the southeastern coast of the State and in Cuba and Puerto Rico, though it proved to be very susceptible to the disease, anthracnose, in this climate. Seeds from this tree were obtained and planted by a Captain Haden in Miami. The trees fruited some years after his death and his widow gave the name ‘Haden’ to the tree that bore the best fruit. This variety was regarded as the standard of excellence locally for many decades thereafter and was popular for shipping because of its tough skin.

George B. Cellon started extensive vegetative propagation (patch-budding) of the ‘Haden’ in 1900 and shipped the fruits to northern markets. P.J. Wester conducted many experiments in budding, grafting and inarching from 1904 to 1908 with less success. Shield-budding on a commercial scale was achieved by Mr. Orange Pound of Coconut Grove in 1909 and this was a pioneer breakthrough which gave strong impetus to mango growing, breeding, and dissemination.

Enthusiastic introduction of other varieties by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry, by nurserymen, and other individuals followed, and the mango grew steadily in popularity and importance. The Reasoner Brothers Nursery, on the west coast, imported many mango varieties and was largely responsible for the ultimate establishment of the mango in that area, together with a Mr. J.W. Barney of Palma Sola who had a large collection of varieties and had worked out a feasible technique of propagation which he called “slot grafting”.

Dr. Wilson Popenoe, one of the early Plant Explorers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, became Director of the Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. For more than a quarter of a century, he was a leader in the introduction and propagation of outstanding mangos from India and the East Indies, had them planted at the school and at the Lancetilla Experiment Station at Tela, Honduras, and distributed around tropical America.

In time, the mango became one of the most familiar domesticated trees in dooryards or in small or large commercial plantings throughout the humid and semi-arid lowlands of the tropical world and in certain areas of the near-tropics such as the Mediterranean area (Madeira and the Canary Islands), Egypt, southern Africa, and southern Florida. Local markets throughout its range are heaped high with the fragrant fruits in season and large quantities are exported to non-producing countries.

Altogether, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made 528 introductions from India, the Philippines, the West Indies and other sources from 1899 to 1937. Selection, naming and propagation of new varieties by government agencies and individual growers has been going on ever since. The Mango Form was created in 1938 through the joint efforts of the Broward County Home Demonstration Office of the University of Florida’s Cooperative Extension Service and the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club, with encouragement and direction from the University of Florida’s Subtropical Experiment Station (now the Agricultural Research and Education Center) in Homestead, and Mrs. William J. Krome, a pioneer tropical fruit grower. Meetings were held annually, whenever possible, for the exhibiting and judging of promising seedlings, and exchanging and publication of descriptions and cultural information.

Meanwhile, a reverse flow of varieties was going on. Improved mangos developed in Florida have been of great value in upgrading the mango industry in tropical America and elsewhere.

With such intense interest in this crop, mango acreage advanced in Florida despite occasional setbacks from cold spells and hurricanes. But with the expanding population, increased land values and cost and shortage of agricultural labor after World War II, a number of large groves were subdivided into real estate developments given names such as “Mango Heights” and “Mango Terrace”. There were estimated to be 7,000 acres (2,917 ha) in 27 Florida counties in 1954, over half in commercial groves. There were 4,000 acres (1,619 ha) in 1961. Today, mango production in Florida, on approximately 1,700 acres (688 ha), is about 8,818 tons (8,000 MT) annually in “good” years, and valued at $3 million. Fruits are shipped not only to northern markets but also to the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France and Saudi Arabia. In advance of the local season, quantities are imported into the USA from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and, throughout the summer, Mexican sources supply mangos to the Pacific Coast consumer. Supplies also come in from India and Taiwan.

A mango seed from Guatemala was planted in California about 1880 and a few trees have borne fruit in the warmest locations of that state, with careful protection when extremely low temperatures occur.

Mangos have been grown in Puerto Rico since about 1750 but mostly of indifferent quality. A program of mango improvement began in 1948 with the introduction and testing of over 150 superior cultivars by the University of Puerto Rico. The south coast of the island, having a dry atmosphere, is best suited for mango culture and substantial quantities of mangos are produced there without the need to spray for anthracnose control. The fruits are plentiful on local markets and shipments are made to New York City where there are many Puerto Rican residents. A study of 16 cultivars was undertaken in 1960 to determine those best suited to more intense commercial production. Productivity evaluations started in 1965 and continued to 1972.

The earliest record of the mango in Hawaii is the introduction of several small plants from Manila in 1824. Three plants were brought from Chile in 1825. In 1899, grafted trees of a number of Indian varieties, including ‘Pairi’, were imported. Seedlings became widely distributed over the six major islands. In 1930, the ‘Haden’ was introduced from Florida and became established in commercial plantations. The local industry began to develop seriously after the importation of a series of monoembryonic cultivars from Florida. But Hawaiian mangos are prohibited from entry into mainland USA, Australia, Japan and some other countries, because of the prevalence of the mango seed weevil in the islands.

In Brazil, most mangos are produced in the state of Minas, Gerais where the crop amounts to 243,018 tons (22,000 MT) annually on 24,710 acres (10,000 ha). These are mainly seedlings, as are those of the other states with major mango crops–Ceará, Paraibá, Goias, Pernambuco, and Maranhao. Sao Paulo raises about 63,382 tons (57,500 MT) per year on 9,884 acres (4,000 ha). The bulk of the crop is for domestic consumption. In 1973, Brazil exported 47.4 tons (43 MT) of mangos to Europe.

Mango growing began with the earliest settlers in North Queensland, Australia, with seeds brought casually from India, Ceylon, the East Indies and the Philippines. In 1875, 40 varieties from India were set out in a single plantation. Over the years, selections have been made for commercial production and culture has extended to subtropical Western Australia.

There is no record of the introduction of the mango into South Africa but a plantation was set out in Durban about 1860. Production today probably has reached about 16,535 tons (15,000 MT) annually, and South Africa exports fresh mangos by air to Europe.

Kenya exports mature mangos to France and Germany and both mature and immature to the United Kingdom, the latter for chutney-making. Egypt produces 110,230 tons (100,000 MT) of mangos annually and exports moderate amounts to 20 countries in the Near East and Europe. Mango culture in the Sudan occupies about 24,710 acres (10,000 ha) producing a total of 66,138 tons (60,000 MT) per year.

India, with 2,471,000 acres (1,000,000 ha) of mangos (70% of its fruit-growing area) produces 65% of the world’s mango crop–9,920,700 tons (9,000,000 MT). In 1985, mango growers around Hyderabad sought government protection against terrorists who cut down mango orchards unless the owners paid ransom (50,000 rupees in one case). India far outranks all other countries as an exporter of processed mangos, shipping 2/3 of the total 22,046 tons (20,000 MT). Mango preserves go to the same countries receiving the fresh fruit and also to Hong Kong, Iraq, Canada and the United States. Following India in volume of exports are Thailand, 774,365 tons (702,500 MT), Pakistan and Bangladesh, followed by Brazil. Mexico ranks 5th with about 100,800 acres (42,000 ha) and an annual yield of approximately 640,000 tons (580,000 MT). The Philippines have risen to 6th place. Tanzania is 7th, the Dominican Republic, 8th and Colombia, 9th.

Leading exporters of fresh mangos are: the Philippines, shipping to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan; Thailand, shipping to Singapore and Malaysia; Mexico, shipping mostly ‘Haden’ to the United States, 2,204 tons (2,000 MT), annually, also to Japan and Paris; India, shipping mainly ‘Alphonso’ and ‘Bombay’ to Europe, Malaya, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; Indonesia, shipping to Hong Kong and Singapore; and South Africa shipping (60% ‘Haden’ and ‘Kent’) by air to Europe and London in mid-winter.

Chief importers are England and France, absorbing 82% of all mango shipments. Mango consumers in England are mostly residents of Indian origin, or English people who formerly lived in India.

The first International Symposium on Mango and Mango Culture, of the International Society for Horticultural Science, was held in New Delhi, India, in 1969 with a view to assembling a collection of germplasm from around the world and encouraging cooperative research on rootstocks and bearing behavior, hybridization, disease, storage and transport problems, and other areas of study.

Blooming is strongly affected by weather, dryness stimulating flowering and rainy weather discouraging it. In most of India, flowering occurs in December and January; in northern India, in January and February or as late as March. There are some varieties called “Baramasi” that flower and fruit irregularly throughout the year. The cultivar ‘Sam Ru Du’ of Thailand bears 3 crops a year–in January, June and October. In the drier islands of the Lesser Antilles, there are mango trees that flower and fruit more or less continuously all year around but never heavily at any time. Some of these are cultivars introduced from Florida where they flower and fruit only once a year. In southern Florida, mango trees begin to bloom in late November and continue until February or March, inasmuch as there are early, medium, and late varieties. During exceptionally warm winters, mango trees have been known to bloom 3 times in succession, each time setting and maturing fruit.

In the Philippines, various methods are employed to promote flowering: smudging (smoking), exposing the roots, pruning, girdling, withholding nitrogen and irrigation, and even applying salt. In the West Indies, there is a common folk practice of slashing the trunk with a machete to make the tree bloom and bear in “off” years. Deblos-soming (removing half the flower clusters) in an “on” year will induce at least a small crop in the next “off” year. Almost any treatment or condition that retards vegetative growth will have this effect. Spraying with growth-retardant chemicals has been tried, with inconsistent results. Potassium nitrate has been effective in the Philippines.

In India, the cultivar ‘Dasheri’, which is self incompatible, tends to begin blooming very early (December and January) when no other cultivars are in flower. And the early particles show a low percentage of hermaphrodite flowers and a high incidence of floral malformation. Furthermore, early blooms are often damaged by frost. It has been found that a single mechanical deblossoming in the first bud-burst stage, induces subsequent development of particles with less malformation, more hermaphrodite flowers, and, as a result, a much higher yield of fruits.

There is one cultivar, ‘Neelum’, in South India that bears heavily every year, apparently because of its high rate (16%) of hermaphrodite flowers. (The average for ‘Alphonso’ is 10%.) However, Indian horticulturists report great tree-to-tree variation in seedlings of this cultivar; in some surveys as much as 84% of the trees were rated as poor bearers. Over 92% of ‘Bangalora’ seedlings have been found bearing light crops.

Mango flowers are visited by fruit bats, flies, wasps, wild bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, ants and various bugs seeking the nectar and some transfer the pollen but a certain amount of self-pollination also occurs. Honeybees do not especially favor mango flowers and it has been found that effective pollination by honeybees would require 3 to 6 colonies per acre (6-12 per ha). Many of the unpollinated flowers are shed or fail to set fruit, or the fruit is set but is shed when very young. Heavy rains wash off pollen and thus prevent fruit setting. Some cultivars tend to produce a high percentage of small fruits without a fully developed seed because of unfavorable weather during the fruit-setting period.

Shy-bearing cultivars of otherwise desirable characteristics are hybridized with heavy bearers in order to obtain better crops. For example: shy-bearing ‘Himayuddin’ ´ heavy-bearing ‘Neelum’. Breeders usually hand-pollinate all the flowers that are open in a cluster, remove the rest, and cover the inflorescence with a plastic bag. But researchers in India have found that there is very little chance of contamination and that omitting the covering gives as much as 3.85% fruit set in place of 0.23% to 1.57% when bagged. Thus large populations of hybrids may be raised for study. One of the latest techniques involves grafting the male and female parents onto a chosen tree, then covering the panicles with a polyethylene bag, and introducing house flies as pollinators.

Indian scientists have found that pollen for crossbreeding can be stored at 32° F (0° C) for 10 hours. If not separated from the flowers, it remains viable for 50 hours in a humid atmosphere at 65° to 75° F (18.33° -23.09° C). The stigma is receptive 18 hours before full flower opening and, some say, for 72 hours after.

Washing the fruits immediately after harvest is essential, as the sap which leaks from the stem bums the skin of the fruit making black lesions which lead to rotting.

Some cultivars, especially ‘Bangalora’, ‘Alphonso’, and ‘Neelum’ in India, have much better keeping quality than others. In Bombay, ‘Alphonso’ has kept well for 4 weeks at 52° F (11.11° C); 6 to 7 weeks at 45° F (7.22° C). Storage at lower temperatures is detrimental inasmuch as mangos are very susceptible to chilling injury. Any temperature below 55.4° F (13° C) is damaging to ‘Kent’. In Florida, this is regarded as the optimum for 2 to 3 weeks storage. The best ripening temperatures are 70° to 75° F (21.11°-23.89° C).

Experiments in Florida have demonstrated that ‘Irwin’, ‘Tommy Atkins’ and ‘Kent’ mangos, held for 3 weeks at storage temperature of 55.4° F (13° C), 98% to 100% relative humidity and atmospheric pressure of 76 or 152 mmHg, ripened thereafter with less decay at 69.8° F (21° C) under normal atmospheric pressure, as compared with fruits stored at the same temperature with normal atmospheric pressure. Those stored at 152 mmHg took 3 to 5 days longer to ripen than those stored at 76 mmHg. Decay rates were 20% for ‘Tommy Atkins’ and 40% for ‘Irwin’. Spoilage from anthracnose has been reduced by immersion for 15 min in water at 125° F (51.67° C) or for 5 min at 132° F (55.56° C). Dipping in 500 ppm maleic hydrazide for 1 min and storing at 89.6° F (32° C) also retards decay but not loss of moisture. In South Africa, mangos are submerged immediately after picking in a suspension of benomyl for 5 min at 131° F (55° C) to control soft brown rot.

In Australia, mature-green ‘Kensington Pride’ mangos have been dipped in a 4% solution of calcium chloride under reduced pressure (250 mm Hg) and then stored in containers at 77° F (25° C) in ethylene-free atmosphere. Ripening was retarded by a week; that is, the treated fruits ripened in 20 to 22 days whereas controls ripened in 12 to 14 days. Eating quality was equal except that the calcium-treated fruits were found slightly higher in ascorbic acid.

Wrapping fruits individually in heat-shrinkable plastic film has not retarded decay in storage. The only benefit has been 3% less weight loss. Coating with paraffin wax or fungicidal wax and storing at 68° to 89.6° F (20° -32° C) delays ripening 1 to 2 weeks and prevents shriveling but interferes with full development of color.

Gamma irradiation (30 Krad) causes ripening delay of 7 days in mangos stored at room temperature. The irradiated fruits ripen normally and show no adverse effect on quality. Irradiation has not yet been approved for this purpose.

In India, large quantities of mangos are transported to distant markets by rail. To avoid excessive heat buildup and consequent spoilage, the fruits, padded with paper shavings, are packed in ventilated wooden crates and loaded into ventilated wooden boxcars. Relative humidity varies from 24% to 85% and temperature from 88° to 115° F (31.6°-46.6° C). These improved conditions have proved superior to the conventional packing of the fruits in Phoenix-palm-midrib or bamboo, or the newer pigeonpea-stem, baskets padded with rice straw and mango leaves and transported in steel boxcars, which has resulted in 20% to 30% losses from shriveling, unshapeliness and spoilage.

Green seedling mangos, harvested in India for commercial preparation of chutneys and pickles as well as for table use, are stored for as long as 40 days at 42° to 45° F (5.56°-7.22° C) with relative humidity of 85% to 99%. Some of these may be diverted for table use after a 2-week ripening period at 62° to 65° F (16.67° -18.13° C).

In India, South Africa and Hawaii, mango seed weevils, Sternochetus (Cryptorhynchus) mangiferae and S. gravis, are major pests, undetectable until the larvae tunnel their way out. The leading predators of the tree in India are jassid hoppers (Idiocerus spp.) variously attacking trunk and branches or foliage and flowers, and causing shedding of young fruits. The honeydew they excrete on leaves and flowers gives rise to sooty mold.

The mango-leaf webber, or “tent caterpillar”, Orthaga euadrusalis, has become a major problem in North India, especially in old, crowded orchards where there is excessive shade. Around Lucknow, ‘Dashehari’ is heavily infested by this pest; ‘Samarbehist’ (‘Chausa’) less. In South Africa, 11 species of scales have been recorded on the fruits. Coccus mangiferae and C. acuminatus are the most common scale insects giving rise to the sooty mold that grows on the honeydew excreted by the pests. In some areas, there are occasional outbreaks of the scales, Pulvinaria psidii, P. polygonata, Aulacaspis cinnamoni, A. tubercularis, Aspidiotus destructor and Leucaspis indica. In Florida, pyriform scale, Protopulvinaria Pyrformis, and Florida wax scale, Ceroplastes floridensis, are common, and the lesser snow scale, Pinnaspis strachani, infests the trunks of small trees and lower branches of large trees. Heavy attacks may result in cracking of the bark and oozing of sap.

The citrus thrips, Scirtothrips aurantii, blemishes the fruit in some mango-growing areas. The red-banded thrips, Selenothrips rubrocinctus, at times heavily infests mango foliage in Florida, killing young leaves and causing shedding of mature leaves. Mealybugs, Phenacoccus citri and P. mangiferae, and Drosicha stebbingi and D. mangiferae may infest young leaves, shoots and fruits. The mango stem borer, Batocera rufomaculata invades the trunk. Leaves and shoots are preyed on by the caterpillars of Parasa lepida, Chlumetia transversa and Orthaga exvinacea. Mites feed on mango leaves, flowers and young fruits. In Florida, the most common is the avocado red mite, Paratetranychus yothersii.

Mistletoe (Loranthus and Viscum spp.) parasitizes and kills mango branches in India and tropical America. Dr. B. Reddy, Regional Plant Production and Protection Officer, FAO, Bangkok, compiled an extensive roster of insects, mites, nematodes, other pests, fungi, bacteria and phanerogamic parasites in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region (1975).

One of the most serious diseases of the mango is powdery mildew (Oidium mangiferae), which is common in most growing areas of India, occurs mostly in March and April in Florida. The fungus affects the flowers and causes young fruits to dehydrate and fall, and 20% of the crop may be lost. It is controllable by regular spraying. In humid climates, anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Glomerella cingulata) affects flowers, leaves, twigs, fruits, both young and mature. The latter show black spots externally and the corresponding flesh area is affected. Control measures must be taken in advance of flowering and regularly during dry spells. In Florida, mango growers apply up to 20 sprayings up to the cut-off point before harvesting. The black spots are similar to those produced by AIternaria sp. often associated with anthracnose in cold storage in India. Inside the fruits attacked by AIternaria there are corresponding areas of hard, corky, spongy lesions. Inasmuch as the fungus enters the stem-end of the fruit, it is combatted by applying Fungicopper paste in linseed oil to the cut stem and also by sterilizing the storage compartment with Formalin 1:20. A pre-harvest dry stem-end rot was first noticed on ‘Tommy Atkins’ in Mexico in 1973, and it has spread to all Mexican plantings of this cultivar causing losses of 10-80% especially in wet weather. Fusarium, Alternaria and Cladosporium spp. were prominent among associated fungi.

Malformation of inflorescence and vegetative buds is attributed to the combined action of Fusarium moniliforme and any of the mites, Aceria mangifera, Eriophyes sp., Tyrophagus castellanii, or Typhlodromus asiaticus. This grave problem occurs in Pakistan, India, South Africa and Egypt, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela, but not as yet in the Philippines. It is on the increase in India. Removing and burning the inflorescence has been the only remedy, but it has been found that malformation can be reduced by a single spray of NAA (200 mg in 50 ml alcohol with water added to make 1 liter) in October, and deblooming in early January.

There are 14 types of mango galls in India, 12 occurring on the leaves. The most serious is the axillary bud gall caused by Apsylla cistellata of the family Psyllidae.

In Florida, leaf spot is caused by Pestalotia mangiferae, Phyllosticta mortoni, and Septoria sp.; algal leaf spot, or green scurf by Cephaleuros virescens. In 1983, a new disease, crusty leaf spot, caused by the fungus, Zimmermaniella trispora, was reported as common on neglected mango trees in Malaya. Twig dieback and dieback are from infection by Phomopsis sp., Physalospora abdita, and P. rhodina. Wilt is caused by Verticillium alboatrum; brown felt by Septobasidium pilosum and S. pseudopedicellatum; wood rot, by Polyporus sanguineus; and scab by Elsinoe mangiferae (Sphaceloma mangiferae). Cercospora mangiferae attacks the fruits in the Congo.

A number of organisms in India cause white sap, heart rot, gray blight, leaf blight, white pocket rot, white spongy rot, sap rot, black bark and red rust. In South Africa, Asbergillus attacks young shoots and fruit rot is caused by A. niger. Gloeosporium mangiferae causes black spotting of fruits. Erwinia mangiferae and Pseudomonas mangiferaeindicae are sources of bacterial black spot in South Africa and Queensland. Bacterium carotovorus is a source of soft rot. Stem-end rot is a major problem in India and Puerto Rico from infection by Physalospora rhodina (Diplodia natalensis). Soft brown rot develops during prolonged cold storage in South Africa.

Leaf tip burn may be a sign of excess chlorides. Manganese deficiency is indicated by paleness and limpness of foliage followed by yellowing, with distinct green veins and midrib, fine brown spots and browning of leaf tips. Inadequate zinc is evident in less noticeable paleness of foliage, distortion of new shoots, small leaves, necrosis, and stunting of the tree and its roots. In boron deficiency, there is reduced size and distortion of new leaves and browning of the midrib. Copper deficiency is seen in paleness of foliage and severe tip-bum with gray-brown patches on old leaves; abnormally large leaves; also die-back of terminal shoots; sometimes gummosis of twigs and branches. Magnesium is needed when young trees are stunted and pale, new leaves have yellow-white areas between the main veins and prominent yellow specks on both sides of the midrib. There may also be browning of the leaf tips and margins. Lack of iron produces chlorosis in young trees.

*Minimum and maximum levels of food constituents derived from various analyses made in Cuba, Central America, Africa and India.

Puerto Rican analyses of 30 cultivars showed b-carotene as ranging from a low of 4,171 I.U./100 g in ‘Stringless Peach’ to a high of 7,900 I.U. in ‘Carrie’. Ascorbic acid ranged from 3.43 mg/100 g in ‘Keitt’ to 62.96 in ‘Julie’.

**According to analyses made in India and Cuba.

Indian analyses of the mango kernel reveal the amino acids–alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cystine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, at levels lower than in wheat and gluten. Tannin content may be 0.12-0.18% or much higher in certain cultivars.

*It is said to be equal to rice in food value, if tannin-free.

**According to various analyses made in India.