Mango

From New World Encyclopedia
Mango
Immature Black Mango fruit
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

Taxonomy

The mango (plural mangos or mangoes), Magnifera indica L., is the most commercially-important fruit crop in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae (Cashew or poison ivy family). Other members of this family include cashew, pistachio, and the mombins. Anacardiaceae contains 73 genera and about 600-700 species, characterized by their resinous bark and caustic oils in leaves, bark, and fruits. The genus Magnifera contains about 35 species, although some authors put the number as high as 69. 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.

Origin

The mango originated in the Indo- Burma region, where it is still found growing wild in the forests, especially in the hilly areas of the north-east. The cultivated mango is probably a natural hybrid between M. indica and M. sylvatica. 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., are replete with references to the mango. One of the earliest HIndu myths calims that the tree is the very transformation of Prajapati, the progenitor and creator of all creatures. The mango is widely-accepted as a romantic symbol, adn as a wish-fulfilling tree it is commonly associated ideas of fertility and fecundity. The name of the fruit comes from the Tamil word mangaai, and was popularized by the Portuguese after their Indian exploration, hence the word 'manga' in Portuguese. The mango is now widely cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and subtropical climates throughout the Indian subcontinent, North America, Central America, [[]South America]], the Caribbean, south and central Africa and Australia.

Botanical Description

Mango trees are large trees, reaching 10-30 m (30 to 100 ft) in height, with a broad, rounded canopy which may, with age, attain 30-38 m (100-125 ft) in width, or a more upright, oval, slender crown. The tree is long-lived, some specimens being known to still bear fruit at 300 years of age. Leaves are lanceolate to linear, 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 groth flushes occur per years, with flushess appearing sporadically across the tree's canopy. Full-grown leaves may be 10-32 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, and may persist for several years.

Tiny, red-yellow flowers are borne in profuse, pyrimidal, branched clusters of hundreds to as a many as 4,000 individuals. Terminal panicles are 6-40 cm long. The flowers give off a mild sweet odour 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 1-3 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, honey bees. Although there may be up to 4000 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 3-6 months to ripen. Fruiting begins within 6-10 years for seedlings, and 3-5 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 6-25 cm long, 7-12 cm wide, 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 where shaded; 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 1-2 mm thick, is a paper-thin lining covering a startchy 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/seasonally dry clime zones of the lowland tropcs, or frost- free subtropical areas. A dry and cool season causes uniform floral intitialtion and importnatly synchronizes bloom and harvest. Temperatures below 60° or above 100° F at flowering may cause flower abortion, loss of pollen viability, and occaasionally seedless fruit development. Fruit growth never becomes dormant, however does cease at temperatures below 55-60° F.

Mango tree with flowers

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.Most mango cultivars were derived from chance seedlings, but some of the most comercially-popular cultivars were founded at a breeding program in Florida.

There are two classes of cultivars: Indochinese and Indian. The Indochinese group is described as flattened, kidney-shaped, and oblong with light green or yellow skin, and little or not 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 amonoembryonic seed that facilitates breeding efforts, and are commonly succeptible to anthracnose.

Today, even though each producing country has its own group of cultivars, Indian cultivars originally bred in Florida domingate the export market. Through the late 1930s and early 1940s, "Haden," which was a chance seedling of "Mulgoba" (one of the oringal mango cultivars brought from India to the US 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 6 percent. In the United States, Florida and Hawaii are the predominant producers, with Florida bringing in greater than 90 percent of production and 80 percent of acreage. The US however imports about 100 times domestic production with most coming from Mexico and small amounts from Brazil, Guatemala, and Haiti.

Contribution to Diet

The fruit flesh of a ripe mango contains about 15% sugar, up to 1% protein, and significant amounts of vitamins A, B and C. The taste of the fruit is very sweet, with some cultivars having a slight acidic tang. The texture of the flesh varies markedly between different cultivars; some have quite a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have a firmer flesh much like that of a cantaloupe or avocado, and in some cultivars the flesh can contain fibrous material. Mangoes are very juicy; the sweet taste and high water content make them refreshing to eat, though somewhat messy.===Consumption===

A mango cut using the "hedgehog" method

===Non-Food Usages===

Non-Food Usages

It is reputed that mangos soothe the intestines, which makes them easy to digest. In India, where mangoes are the national fruit, they are thought to help stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart, and to benefit the brain.

The mango also features as a common motif in Indian textiles, known as the paisley design.

Consumption

Mangos should always be washed to remove any sap or residue on the skin before handling. Since the mango is in teh sam family as poison ivy, sap from the mango tree contains the hazardous chemical urushiol, alhtough 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 piece of skin at the top of the mango is ripped of and the mouth placed over the hole. The mango is squeezed from bottom up into the mouth. On ther other hand, non-fibrous mangos may be cut in half to the stone. Green mangoes are similar to the green apples of more temperate zones; they are tart, crisp, somewhat dry, and often eaten with salt.

About 25 percent of mangoes are processed into juices, chutneys, sauces, are served dried. The mango seed can be processed into a flour. During food shortages in India the kernals are sometimes steeped in hot water to dispel the tannins, dried, and then ground to flour which is mixed with wheat or rice flour to make bread and is also used in puddings. 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 mangoes in Venezuela
Native green mangoes from the Philippines
Mangoes

Ripe mangoes are extremely popular throughout Latin America. In Mexico, sliced mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Street vendors sometimes sell whole mangoes on a stick, dipped in the chili-salt mixture. In Indonesia, green mango is sold by street vendors with sugar and salt and/or chili. Green mango may be used in the sour salad called rujak in Indonesia, and rojak in Malaysia and Singapore. In Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Honduras, small, green mangoes are popular; they have a sharp, brisk flavour like a Granny Smith apple. Vendors sell slices of peeled green mango on the streets of these countries, often served with salt. In Hawai'i it is common to pickle green mango slices.

Mangoes are widely used in chutney, which in the West is often very sweet, but in the Indian subcontinent is usually sharpened with hot chilis or limes. In India, ripe mango is often cut into thin layers, dessicated, folded, and then cut and sold as bars that are very tasty and chewy. These bars, known as amavat in Hindi, are similar to dried Guava fruit bars available in Colombia. Many people like to eat unripe mangoes with salt (which are extremely sour; much more than lemon, and often so sour that it makes your eyelids quiver), and in regions where food is hotter, with salt and chili.

As of 2005 in India, Mango was grown in an area of 1.23 million ha with an annual production of 10.99 million tonnes, which accounted for 57.18 per cent of the total world production. The state of Uttar Pradesh dominates the mango production in the North, and it is considered the most important fruit in central and eastern part of the state, from Lucknow to Varanasi, which produce some of the finest varieties. In southern India, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states are major producers of mangoes and specialises in making a variety of mango pickles. These pickles are very spicy. It is almost an essential food in Andhra families, where mango pickle production is a household activity in summer.

In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp.

Mango is also used to make juices, both in ripe and unripe form. Pieces of fruit can be mashed and used in ice cream; they can be substituted for peaches in a peach (now mango) pie; or put in a blender with milk, a little sugar, and crushed ice for a refreshing beverage. A more traditional Indian drink is mango lassi, which is similar, but uses a mixture of yoghurt and milk as the base, and is sometimes flavoured with salt or cardamom. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavoured with coconut then served with sliced mango on top as a dessert.

Dried unripe mango used as a spice in south and southeast Asia is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor). Am is a Hindi word for Mango and amchoor is nothing but powder or extract of Mango.

Note: The Sweet Bell Pepper (capsicum) is also sometimes known as mango in parts of the midwestern United States Merriam-Webster Dictionary Definition. With the advent of fresh fruit importers exposing individuals to the tropical fruit, the colloquial use of this alternative name for the Sweet Bell Pepper is becoming archaic, although many midwestern menus will still offer stuffed mangoes as an entree.


A list of additional leading cultivars can be found at the cultivar list link in the external links below.

External links

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