Varieties

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.