EVOLUATION DESCRIPTION AND IMPORTANCE OF MANGO Nex End

EVOLUATION, DESCRIPTION AND IMPORTANCE OF MANGO Nex End

§ India is the second largest producer of fruits after China. § A large variety of fruits are grown in India, of which mango, banana, citrus, guava, grape, pineapple and apple are the major ones. § Mango is one of the oldest fruits cultivated by man and it plays an integral part in the lives of humans not only by being rich nutrient source but also by serving as a common food that is shared in the culture, the life style and the religion. § It is the leading fruit crop of India and considered to be the “King of Tropical Fruits”. § Mango has been mentioned by various travellers in their memoirs. During the Moghul period, many of the choice seedling trees were designated as distinct varieties and attempts were made to propagate them vegetatively. Previous Nex End

Akbar, ‘the great Moghul king’, planted a mango orchard of 0. 1 million trees near Darbhanga in Bihar and this was the time when mango actually got the ‘Royal Patronage’. Now, mango cultivation has been taken up even by a small farmer and it has a high priority in any orchard planning. Mangoes retain a special significance in the culture of South Asia where they have been cultivated for millennia. Reference to mangoes as the “Food of the Gods” can be found in the Hindu Vedas and the leaves are ritually used for floral decorations at Hindu marriages and religious ceremonies. Previous Nex End

In Tamil Nadu, it is one among the three important fruits referred as “Mukkani” (mango, banana, jack) meaning three delicious fruits. In 1960, mangoes were not commonly known among the consumers outside the tropics and there was virtually no international trade of fresh fruit. In recent years, mangoes have become well established as fresh fruit and processed products in the global market. Till recently, in the United States of America, mango is not consumed as a fruit but as a drink. Previous Nex End

Of late, the consumers now regularly choose fresh cut mangoes over apricots, cherries and plums. World demand for mango is now being increasing steadily, particularly from temperate countries, where mangoes are not cultivated. The mango production in non-traditional mango producing regions viz. , parts of Asia, West Africa, Australia, South America and Mexico has also increased in the recent years owing to the huge demand existing in the world market. Previous Nex End

Etymology § The name mango, almost identical in countless languages, is § § derived from the Tamil word “Maa”, the most important and ancient language of Southern India, and was popularized by the Portuguese after their Indian exploration. It appears that the term was picked up by Portuguese sailors who encountered the fruits at harbours and markets. Mangifera indica, the Latin mangifera, meaning “bringer of mango”contains Latin word ferre, meaning “carry, bring”; indica, of or from or referring in some way to India. It is called as “Mango” in English and Spanish with only slight variations in French (mangot, mangue, manguier) Portuguese (manga, mangueira), and Dutch (manja). In some parts of Africa, it is called mangou or mangoro. Previous Nex End

Vernacular names Mango is called by different names in various Indian languages. The different vernacular names of mango are as follows: Tamil : Ambiram, Mambazham, Mangai Malayalam : Manga, Mampazham Telugu : Amramu, Mamidipandu, Mangayi Kannada : Amra, Mavinahannu, Mavina mara (tree) Hindi : Aam, Aamchur Gujarati : Karino Marathi : Amchur Punjabi : Amb, Wawashi Bengali : Aam Assamese : Ghariyam Urdu : Am, Amba Sanskrit : Ambrah, Madhuulii, Madhuulaka Previous Nex End

TAXONOMY 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 to it as Mangifera arbor in 1747, prior to changing the name to its present form of Mangifera indica in 1753. Genus Mangifera belongs to the family Anacardiaceae and order Sapindales. Almost all the commercial cultivars of mango are included in a single species Mangifera indica Linn. Kingdom : Plantae Phylum : Magnoliophyta Class : Magnoliopsida Order : Sapindales Family : Anacardiaceae Genus : Mangifera Species: indica (Cont). . Previous Nex End

Wild mangoes occur in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sikkim, Thailand, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Laos, Southern China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. Species Distribution Mangifera sp : upto 300 m above mean sea level (MSL) M. sylvatica and M. indica : at 600 -1900 m above sea level M. gedebe, M. griffithii and M. : swamp forests : sub-mountain forests above 1000 parvifolia M. bompardii, M. dongnaiensis and M. orophila m and occasionally up to 15001700 m above mean sea level M. caloneura, M. collina, M. timorensi and M. zeylanica Previous : Acclimatized to seasonally dry climates of deciduous or semi deciduous forests Nex End

Botanical description Tree The mango tree grows erect to a height of 10 to 30 m and 30 to 38 m wide with a broad and round canopy. Bark is usually dark grey-brown to black, rather smooth or superficially cracked or inconspicuously fissured and peels off in irregular thick pieces. Previous The bark contains 78% resin, 15% gum and tannic acid. Twigs are not very thick but they are smooth, apically angular, glabrous, glossy and dark green. Nex End

Root § The tree has a long unbranched tap root (up to 6 to 8 m and more) with a dense mass of superficial feeder roots. Root Feeder roots develop at the base of the trunk or slightly deeper. § Effective root system of an 18 year old mango tree may reach 12 m depth with lateral spread of 7. 5 m. Previous Nex End

Leaf The leaves are simple, exstipulate, alternate and 15 - 45 cm in length. The petiole is always swollen at the base and grooved on the upper side. Leaves are variable in shapes like oval -lanceolate, oblong, linearoblong, ovate, obovate-lanceolate or roundish-oblong. The apex ranges from acuminate to nearly round. (cont)…. Previous Nex End

The margin is usually entire, sometimes slightly undulated and wavy. The upper surface is shining and dark green while the lower is glabrous and light green The leaves have fibre and crackle when crushed. They have a strong smell of turpentine (some cultivars do not smell) and contain a good amount of mangiferin (xanthone). Previous Nex End

Inflorescence The inflorescence is pseudo-terminal and panicle is conical in shape growing up to 45 cm in length depending upon cultivar and environmental conditions during its development. Previous The colour of the panicle may be yellowish-green, light green with crimson patches or with crimson flush on branches. (Cont) … Nex End

The branching of the inflorescence is usually tertiary, rarely quaternary, but the ultimate branching is always cymose. The panicle bears 500 to 6000 flowers of which 1 -70% is bisexual and the remaining are male depending on the cultivar and temperature during its development. Previous Nex End

Flowers Hermaphrodite (perfect) and male flowers are produced in the same panicle usually with a higher per cent of the male flowers and their size vary from 6 to 8 mm in diameter. The corolla consists of five pale yellow petals, which are twice as long as the calyx. They are thin, yellow in colour and the petals turn pink on fading. Previous Nex End

Fruit The fruit is a more or less compressed fleshy drupe. It varies considerably in size, shape, color, presence of fibre, flavor, taste and several other characters. The most characteristic feature of the mango fruit is the formation of a small conical projection developing laterally at the proximal end of the fruit, known as the beak. (Cont). . Previous Nex End

germinating seed husk opened, seed visible The shape of the fruit varies from rounded to ovate-oblong or longish, with the length varying from 2. 5 to 30 cm in different varieties. The base may be depressed, elevated or may be intermediate. The nut veination is one of the important characters to differentiate varieties besides leaf veination. The skin may be smooth or rough, gland-dotted and at maturity exhibits different color mixtures of green, yellow and red shades seedling Previous Nex End first roots

Nutrient content in mango fruit Besides mango delicious taste, excellent flavour and attractive fragrance, it is rich in nutrients and vitamins A and C. Ripe fruits of mango are diuretic, laxative and the kernel is effective against diarrhoea and asthma. Nutrient (Units) 100 g of pulp Water (g) 81. 71 Energy (kcal) 65. 00 Protein (g) 0. 51 Total lipid (fat) (g) 0. 27 Carbohydrate (g) 17. 00 Fiber, total dietary (g) 1. 80 Ash (g) 0. 50 Minerals Calcium, Ca (mg) 10. 00 Iron, Fe (mg) 0. 13 Magnesium, Mg (mg) 9. 00 Phosphorus, P (mg) 11. 00 Potassium, K (mg) 156. 00 Sodium, Na (mg) 2. 00 Zinc, Zn (mg) 0. 04 Copper, Cu (mg) 0. 11 Manganese, Mn (mg) 0. 027 Vitamin C (mg) 27. 70 Thiamin (mg) 0. 058 Riboflavin (mg) 0. 057 Niacin (mg) 0. 584 Pantothenic acid (mg) 0. 160 Vitamin B-6 (mg) 0. 134 Folate, total (mg) 14. 00 Vitamin A (IU) 3894 Vitamin E (mg) 1. 120 Previous Nex End

Assessment: 1) ______ is the king of tropical fruits. a). Banana b). Sapota c). Mango 2) Mango botanically called as _____ a). Psidium gujava b). Mangifera indica c). Musa spp. 3)Mango leaves contain ______ and ______. (Turpentine and mangiferin) 4) Mango fruit is a more are less compressed fleshy _____ a) Drupe b) Berry c). Aggregate fruit 5) Mango kernel is effective against ______ diseases. (Diarrhoea and asthma) Previous Nex End

References 1. Bose. T. K. , S. K. Mitra. 1990. Fruits: tropical and subtropica. Publisher. Naya Prokash, . 57 p. 2. Gangolly, S. R. 1957. The Mango. New Delhi, Indian Council of Agriculture Research. 3. Radha. T. & Lila Mathew 2007. Fruit Crops: Vol. 03. Horticulture Science Series. New India Publishing. 221 p 4. Samson, J. A. 1986. Tropical Fruits. 2 nd ed. Longman Scientific and Technical. pp. 216 -234 Previous