Mango

? Mango
Immature Black Mango fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantaeia Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Sapindales Family: Anacardiaceae Genus: Mangifera L.
Species
About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera swintonioides Mangifera sylvatica Mangifera torquenda Mangifera zeylanica

The mango (plural mangos or mangoes) is a genus of about 35 species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae (Cashew or poison ivy family). The genus Mangifera refers to both the mango tree and the mango fruit that the tree bears. Out of the 35 species, Mangifera indica is the most commercially-important fruit and fruit crop. Up to 15 other species besides M. indica produce edible fruit, including the water mango M. laurina, and the wild, forest mango from which M. indica is thought to have descended, M. sylvatica. Other members of Anacardiaceae include cashew, pistachio, and the mombins. Anacardiaceae contains 73 genera and about 600 to 700 species, characterized by their resinous bark and caustic oils in leaves, bark, and fruits.

Mangoes

The mango tree originated in the Indo- Burma region, where it is still found growing wild in forests, especially in the hilly areas of the north-east. Selection of wild types has occurred for 4000-6000 years, and vegetative propagation for at least 400 years in India.The ancient Hindu texts the Vedas and the Puranas, written as far back as 2000 B.C.E., are replete with references to the mango. One of the earliest Hindu myths claims that the tree is the very transformation of Prajapati, the progenitor and creator of all creatures. As a wish-fulfilling tree, the mango tree is commonly-associated ideas of fertility and fecundity. The mango fruit itself is known as the "King of Fruits," and it is widely-accepted as a romantic symbol. The name "mango" is derived from the Tamil word mangaai, and was popularized by the Portuguese after their Indian exploration, hence the word 'manga' in Portuguese. Today, the mango is widely-cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and subtropical climates throughout India, North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, south and central Africa, and Australia.

Botanical Description

Mango trees are large trees, reaching 10 to 30 m (30 to 100 ft) in height, with a broad, rounded canopy which may, with age, attain 30 to 38 m (100-125 ft) in width, or a more upright, oval, slender crown. The mango tree is known for its longevity with some specimens being noted to still bear fruit at 300 years of age. Leaves are lanceolate to linear, glossy evergreen in color, and have prominent light colored veins and entire margins. Emerging leaves on new growth flushes are bronze-red before maturation and appear wilted. One or two growth flushes occur per years, with flushes appearing sporadically across the tree's canopy. Fully-grown leaves may be 10 to 32 cm long and 2 to 5 cm broad, and may persist for several years.

Mango tree with flowers

Tiny, red-yellow flowers are borne in profuse, pyramidal, branched clusters of hundreds to as a many as four thousand individuals. Terminal panicles are 6 to 40 cm long. The flowers give off a mild sweet odor suggestive of lily of the valley, and 25 to 95 percent of the flowers are male while the rest hermaphroditic. Panicles sprouting in the bloom season or in shaded parts of the canopy tend to have more hermaphroditic flowers. Flowering occurs 1 to 3 months after panicles are initiated in terminal buds and are triggered by low temperatures or seasonally dry conditions. Chemical application of ethepon, KNO3, and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) is used to either induce flowering, or enhance the proportion of hermaphroditic flowers.

Mango trees are considered to be self-fertile and do not require pollinizers, although research does indicate that some cultivars are self-unfruitful or at least benefit from cross-pollination. Pollination is achieved mostly by wild insects, and to a lesser extent, by honey bees. Although there may be up to four thousand flowers on a panicle, fruit set is usually just a few percent, with an average of one mango borne per panicle. After the flowers bloom, the fruit takes from 3 to 6 months to ripen. Fruiting begins within 6 to 10 years for seedling trees, and 3 to 5 years for grafted trees.

The mango fruit is a drupe; when mature, it hangs from the tree on long stems. Mangos are variable in size, from 6 to 25 cm long, 7 to 12 cm wide, and with a weight of up to 2.5 kg (4 to 5 lbs). The ripe fruit is variably colored yellow, orange and red, reddest on the side facing the sun and yellow in the shade; green usually indicates that the fruit is not yet ripe, but this depends on the cultivar, or variety. Some mangos have a turpentine odor and flavor, while others have a rich and pleasant fragrance. The flesh ranges from pale yellow to deep orange and is extremely juicy, with a flavor range from very sweet to subacid to tart.

In the center of the fruit is a single flat, oblong stone that can be fibrous or hairless on the surface, depending on the cultivar. Inside the shell, which is 1 to 2 mm thick, is a paper-thin lining covering a starchy seed that is either monoembryonic (usually single-sprouting) or polyembryonic (usually producing more than one seedling).

The prime climate for mango cultivation is seasonally wet and then seasonally dry (or vice versa) climate zones of the lowland tropics, or frost- free subtropical areas. A dry and cool season causes uniform floral initiation and importantly synchronizes bloom and harvest. Temperatures below 60° or above 100° F at flowering may cause flower abortion, loss of pollen viability, and occasionally seedless fruit development. Fruit growth never becomes dormant, however does cease at temperatures below 55-60° F.

Cultivars

There are hundreds of mango cultivars that exist throughout the world. In mango orchards, several cultivars are usually grown intermixed to improve cross-pollination. Many mango cultivars were derived from chance seedlings, but some of the most commercially-popular cultivars were founded at a breeding program in Florida.

Native green mangoes from the Philippines

There are two classes of cultivars: Indochinese and Indian. The mangos of the Indochinese group are described as flattened, kidney-shaped, and oblong with light green or yellow skin, and little or no red color. Indochinese cultivars usually have a polyembryonic seed, and most are resistant to anthracnose, the major fungal disease affecting the mango. In contrast, the Indian class is characterized by mangos that are more plump and rounded, and that have a that have a bright red blush on the skin. Indians mangos have a monoembryonic seed that facilitates breeding efforts, and are commonly susceptible to anthracnose.

Today, even though each producing country has its own group of cultivars, Indian cultivars originally bred in Florida dominate the export market. Through the late 1930s and early 1940s, "Haden," which was a chance seedling of "Mulgoba" (one of the original mango cultivars brought from India to the U.S. by the USDA in the 1800s), was the most popular cultivar. "Haden", however, was found to be anthracnose-prone, and a light and irregular bearer, and since then has been replaced by more disease-resistant and prolific cultivars. The leading present-day mango cultivars for commercial production and shipping are "Tommy Atkins", "Keitt", "Kent", "Van Dyke", and "Jubilee". The first two cultivars represent 50% of commercial crop.

Production

According to the 2002 FAO report, 26,147,900 MT or 58 billion pounds of mangos are produced each year. Mangos are produced on a total on 8.5 million acres in 90 countries worldwide. Yields average about 6900 lbs/acre. India, China, and Thailand are the world's three largest producers, with India claiming 44 percent of global production, China 13 percent and Thailand six percent. In the United States, Florida and Hawaii are the predominant producers, with Florida responsible for more than 90 percent of production and 80 percent of acreage. The U.S. however imports about 100 times the domestic production, with most fruit coming from Mexico, and small amounts from Brazil, Guatemala, and Haiti.

Consumption

Mangos should always be washed to remove any sap or residue on the skin before handling. Since the mango is in the same family as poison ivy, sap from the mango tree contains the hazardous chemical urushiol, although much less than poison ivy. Some people get dermatitis from touching mango sap or peel.

Some seedling mangos are so fibrous that they cannot be sliced. These mangos are first massaged by rolling on a flat surface, and then a piece of skin at the top of the mango is ripped off and the mouth placed over the hole. The mango is squeezed from bottom up into the mouth. On the other hand, non-fibrous mangos may be cut in half to the stone.

A mango cut using the "hedgehog" method

The mango has proven itself to be a versatile food commodity all around the world. Twenty-five percent of mangoes are processed into juices, chutneys, sauces, or served dried. The mango seed can be processed into a flour. During food shortages in India, the kernels are sometimes steeped in hot water to dispel the tannins, dried, and then ground into a flour that is mixed with wheat or rice flour to make bread. The fat extracted from the kernel is a white, edible tallow that has been proposed as a substitute for cocoa butter in chocolate.

A woman selling mangos in Venezuela

Green mangos are similar to the green apples of more temperate zones; they are tart, crisp, somewhat dry, and often eaten with salt. Green mangos may be used in the sour salad called rujak in Indonesia, and rojak in Malaysia and Singapore. Street vendors in Latin America sell green mangos sprinkled with sugar, salt, and hot chili powder. In India, chewy and tasty fruit bars are made out of ripe mangos that are cut into thin layers, dessicated, and then folded. These bars, known as amavat in Hindi, are similar to the dried guava bars available in Colombia. A traditional Indian drink made from mango is mango lassi, which uses a mixture of yogurt and ice as its base, and is sometimes flavored with salt and cardamom. In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries a popular dessert is sticky rice is flavored with coconut and served with sliced mango on top. In these countries, dried, unripe mangos are used as a spice that is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor). Amchur is derived from Am, which is the Hindi word for mango; amchur thereby means powder or extract of mango. In consumption data, the mango has been grouped with fruits such as avocado, apricot, cherry, kiwi, cranberry, and papaya.

Finally, the mango is popular not in the diet but also in the arts. The common artistic motif, the paisley design, found on Indian textiles, is a representation of the mango.

Contribution to Diet

Mangos have a high sugar content, but are low in fat, and are excellent sources of beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin. Both carotenoids are converted to active forms of vitamin A in the body, however beta-cryptoxanthin is about 2 times less strong than beta-carotene.The total carotenoids in mangos increase with the stage of ripening. Since beta-cryptoxanthin is best absorbed by the body when eaten with fat, mangos should be eaten as part of a meal rather than on their own to maximize health benefits. Eating mangos throughout the season may build a store of vitamin A in the liver. Both ripe and unripe mangos are good sources of vitamin C. Both vitamins A and C are anti-oxidants that eliminate free radicals in the body and thus reduce the risk of certain cancers.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 1/2 mango (104g)

• Calories 70
• Total Fat 0.5g

1% Daily Value

• Cholesterol 0mg

0% Daily Value

• Sodium 0mg

0% Daily Value

• Total Carbohydrate 17g

6% Daily Value

• Dietary Fiber 1g
• Sugars 16g
• Protein 0g
• Vitamin A 40% Daily Value
• Vitamin C 15% Daily Value
• Calcium 0% Daily Value
• Iron 0% Daily Value

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Source: PMA’s Labeling Facts.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bawarchi Health and Nutrition, "Mango- The King of Fruits," http://www.bawarchi.com/health/mango.html

• Budhwar, Kusum, Romance of the Mango: The Complete Book of the King of Fruits. New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2002.

• F & S Produce Company, "Mangos Nutrition Facts", http://freshcutproduce.com/nutrifax/mangos.html

• Heath24.com, "Mango," http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Healthy_foods/15-18-19-37.asp

• Morton, Julia F. Fruits of Warm Climates. Miami: Creative Resource Systems, 1987.

• Phytochemicals, "Beta-crptozanthin," http://www.phytochemicals.info/phytochemicals/beta-cryptoxanthin.php

• University of Georgia, "Mango- Mangifera indica," http://www.uga.edu/fruit/mango.htm

Links

• Plant Cultures: botany, history and uses of mango
• All about Mango Research and Development
• Cultivar list
• Mango
• NPR story about the mango splitter

Credits

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