- Botanical name : Mangifera indica L.
- Family: Anacardiaceae
- Chromosome number: 2n = 2x = 40
- Mango is one of the choicest fruits of India, grown over an area of 1.23 million hectares in the country. Mango occupies the prime position in India as apple in temperate and grape in subtropical areas. In India, mango is acclaimed as ‘King of fruits’. The name Mangifera was given for the first time by Bontius in 1658, when he referred to this plant as arbor Mangifera (the tree producing mango). Linnaeus also referred it as Mangifera arbor in 1747, prior to changing the name to its present form (Mangifera indica) in 1753.
- Mango is a good source of vitamin A and C apart from the usual content of minerals and other vitamins. Mango is also considered to have some medicinal properties. Ripe fruits of mango are fattening, diuretic and laxative. The kernel is effective against diarrhoea and asthma. Besides table purpose, fruits of mango can be used for the preparation of pickles, preserves, jam, amchur (mango powder) and mango leather (ampapad) (Singh, 1992).
Germplasm resources
- India is the home of mango germplasm where more than thousand varieties are existing, which are widely distributed in different agroecological zones. Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, (CISH) Lucknow has the largest collection of mango (633 accessions in the national repository) and they have greater genetic variability with respect to fruit shape, skin colour, stone size, period and time of maturity, pulp thickness, colour, bearing habit, yield and quality parameters (Anon., 2002).
- Further, IIHR, Bangalore, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi, Sabour (Bihar), Fruit Research station Sangareddy (Andhra Pradesh) etc. are also maintaining the germplasm of mango. In India, majority of varieties are monoembryonic whereas in most tropical region polyembryonic types are predominant.
- Almost all the commercial cultivars of mango are related to a single species Mangifera indica. However, a few commercial cultivars of South East Asia belong to other edible species such as M. altissima. M. caesia, M. cochinchinensis, M. foetida, M. griffithi, M. langinifera, M. longipes, M. macrocarpa, M. odorata, M. pajang, M. pentandra, M. sylvatica and M. zeylanica.
- There are different reports regarding the number of species in Genus Mangifera. Singh (1969) reported 62 species whereas Mukherjee (1949) reported 41 species but later on he reported that only 39 species are existing (Mukherjee, 1985). There are five species of Mangifera reported from India e.g. M. andamanica, M. indica, M. khasiana, M. sylvatica and M. comptosperma (Mukherjee, 1985).
Objectives
- Qualities of an ideal mango variety have been outlined as follows
- Dwarf tree growth habit
- Precocity and regularity in bearing
- Attractive and good quality fruits
- High productivity and resistance to major diseases and pests
- Good transport and processing qualities
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