History:
Mangoes belong to the genus
Mangifera, consisting of numerous species
of tropical fruiting
trees
in the
flowering plant family
Anacardiaceae. The mango is indigenous to the
Indian
Subcontinent. Cultivated in many tropical
regions and distributed widely in the world, mango is one
of the most extensively exploited fruits for food,
juice,
flavor,
fragrance and
color,
making it a common ingredient in new
functional foods often called
superfruits. Its leaves are ritually used as
floral decorations at
weddings
and religious ceremonies. It is also the national fruit of
India,
Pakistan
& the
Philippines. Mangoes have
been cultivated in the
Indian subcontinent for
thousands of years and reached
East Asia between the
5th-4th century BC. By the 10th century AD, they were
transported to
East Africaand subsequently introduced to
Brazil,
West Indies and
Mexico, where climate
allows its appropriate growth. The 14th century Muslim
traveler,
Ibn Battuta, reported it
at
Mogadishu. Mango is now
cultivated as a fruit tree in
frost-free tropical and
warmer subtropical climates like that of the
Indian subcontinent;
nearly half of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India
alone. Other regions where mango is cultivated include
North,
South and
Central America, the
Caribbean, south, west
and central
Africa,
Australia,
China,
Pakistan and
Southeast Asia. It is
easily
cultivated yielding more
than 1,000
cultivars, ranging from
the "turpentine mango" (named for its strong taste of
turpentine, which
according to the Oxford Companion to Food some
varieties actually contain) to the huevos de toro
("eggs of the bull", a euphemism for "bull's
testicles", referring to
the shape and size). From time immemorial, the
mango, known as the King of Fruits, has been an important
part of life. Mangos have historically been revered as
symbols of life and happiness. Many cases in
history record the effects that mangos have had in shaping
people’s beliefs, customs and ways of life. The name
mango itself comes from the Dravidian word
mânkây
:
mân,
mango tree +
kây,
meaning fruit. The fruit is commonly known as mango in
most countries, with slight variations in Portuguese (manga)
and French (mangue).
Characteristics: Mango trees
reach 35-40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The
tree is long-lived with some specimens known to be over
300 years old and still fruiting. Mangos will grow in
almost any well-drained soil whether sandy, loam or clay,
but avoid heavy, wet soils. A pH between 5.5 and 7.5 is
preferred. They are somewhat tolerant of alkalinity. For
good growth, mangos needs a deep soil to accommodate their
extensive root systems. In deep soil the
taproot descends to a
depth of 20 ft, and the profuse, wide-spreading feeder
roots also send down many anchor roots which penetrate for
several feet. The
leaves are
evergreen, alternate,
simple, 15-35 cm long and 6-16 cm broad; when the leaves
are young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark
glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The
flowers are produced in
terminal
panicles 10-40 cm long;
each flower is small and white with five petals 5-10 mm
long, with a mild sweet odor suggestive of
lily of the valley. The
fruit takes from three to six months to ripen. The ripe
fruit is variable in size and color, and may be yellow,
orange, red or green when ripe, depending on the
cultivar. When ripe, the
unpeeled fruit gives off a distinctive
resinous sweet smell. In
its center is a single flat oblong seed that can be
fibrous or hairy on the
surface, depending on the cultivar. Inside the seed coat
1-2 mm thick is a thin lining covering a single
embryo, 4-7 cm long,
3-4 cm wide, and 1 cm thick.
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. here 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).
Mango trees are
deep-rooted, symmetrical evergreens that attain heights of
90 feet and widths of 80 feet. Mango trees have simple
alternate lanceolate leaves that are 12 to 16 inches in
length and yellow-green, purple, or copper in color when
young. Mature leaves are leathery, glossy, and deep green
in color. New leaves arise in terminal growth flushes that
occur several times a year. Mature terminal branches bear
pyramidal flower panicles that have several hundred white
flowers that are about a 1/4 inch wide when open. Most of
the flowers function as males by providing pollen, but
some are bisexual and set fruit. Pollination is by flies,
wasps, and bees. The fruit weighs about 1/4 pound to 3
pounds. Fruit may be round, ovate, or obovate depending on
the variety. The immature fruit has green skin that
gradually turns yellow, orange, purple, red, or
combinations of these colors as the fruit matures. Mature
fruit has a characteristic fragrance and a smooth, thin,
tough skin. The flesh of ripe mangos is pale yellow to
orange. The flesh is juicy, sweet, and sometimes fibrous.
Some undesirable seedlings or varieties are described as
possessing a turpentine-like off-taste. The fruit has one
seed that is flattened and sticks to the flesh. The seed
contains one or more embryos depending on the variety or
type.
