Fresh Mangoes

WHAT IS MANGO?

Mangoes are believed to have originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh & northeastern India. It is considered an evolutionary anachronism whereby seed dispersal was once accomplished by a now-extinct evolutionary forager such as a megafauna mammal.

From their centre of origin, mangoes diverged into 2 genetically distinct populations: the subtropical Indian group & the tropical Southeast Asian group. The Indian group is characterized by having mono-embryonic fruits while the Southeast Asian group is characterized by poly-embryonic fruits. It was previously believed that mangoes originated from a single domestication event in South Asia before being spread to Southeast Asia but a 2019 study found no evidence of a centre of diversity in India. Instead it identified a higher unique genetic diversity in Southeast Asian cultivars than in Indian cultivars, indicating that mangoes may have originally been domesticated first in Southeast Asia before being introduced to South Asia. However, the authors also cautioned that the diversity in Southeast Asian mangoes may be the result of other reasons (like interspecific hybridization with other Mangifera species native to the Malesian eco-region). Nevertheless, the existence of 2 distinct genetic populations also identified by the study indicates that the domestication of the mango is more complex than previously assumed & would at least indicate multiple domestication events in Southeast Asia & South Asia.

From tropical Asia, mangoes were introduced to East Africa by Arab & Persian traders in the 9th to 10th centuries. The 14th-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported it at Mogadishu. It was spread further into other areas around the world during the Colonial Era. The Portuguese Empire spread the mangoes from their colony in Goa to East & West Africa. From West Africa, they introduced it to Brazil from the 16th to the 17th centuries. From Brazil, it spread northwards to the Caribbean & eastern Mexico by the mid to late 18th century. The Spanish Empire also introduced mangoes directly from the lippines to western Mexico via the Manila galleons from at least the 16th century. Mangoes were only introduced to Florida by 1833.

They are now cultivated in most frost-free tropical & warmer subtropical climates. They are cultivated extensively in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East & West Africa, the tropical & subtropical Americas & the Caribbean. Mangoes are also grown in Andalusia, Spain (mainly in Málaga province), as its coastal subtropical climate is one of the few places in mainland Europe that permits the growth of tropical plants & fruit trees. The Canary Islands are another notable Spanish producer of the fruit. Other minor cultivators include North America (in South Florida & the California Coachella Valley), Hawaii & Australia.

Many commercial cultivars are grafted on to the cold-hardy root stock of Gomera-1 mango cultivar, originally from Cuba. Its root system is well adapted to a coastal Mediterranean climate. Many of the 1,000+ mango cultivars are easily cultivated using grafted saplings, ranging from the "turpentine mango" (named for its strong taste of turpentine) to the Bullock's Heart. Dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties serve as ornamental plants & can be grown in containers. A wide variety of diseases can afflict mangoes.

An important breakthrough in mango cultivation is the use of potassium nitrate & ethrel to induce flowering in mangoes. The discovery was made by Filipino horticulturist Ramon Barba in 1974 & was developed from the uniquely traditional method of inducing mango flowering using smoke in the lippines. It allowed mango plantations to induce regular flowering & fruiting all year round. Previously, mangoes were seasonal because they only flowered every 16-18 months. The method is now used in most mango-producing countries.

*Courtesy of Wikipedia

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