Seeds of Trade - Printable Version

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/seeds-of-trade/print...

MANGO
Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae). Given its scientific name by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, described from a book about Malabar Islands' plants written in 1683 by a Dutch traveller Henrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Draakestein. Originally from India. Life form: long-lived tree. Parts used: edible fruit. Ploidy level: diploid.

Wild relatives
Mangifera indica L. is a member of the cashew family Anacardiaceae, with a centre of diversity in South-East Asia. Mangifera is a genus of 69 species, split into two subgenera, Limus (primitive, thought to be ancestral) and Mangifera. The distribution of wild Mangifera species is throughout tropical Asia, including India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and surrounding islands. The cultivated mango is now grown commercially in equatorial tropics and subtropics and up to latitudes of 35-37 N in both hemispheres. Other South-East Asian species of Mangifera are sometimes used for food, for example Mangifera laurina Blume and Mangifera foetida Lour. Mangifera laurina is found in the humid lowland tropical forests of Malaysia. The fruit is very similar to Mangifera indica, but the pulp becomes liquid on ripening and so the fruit is usually eaten when unripe. Mangifera foetida, native to Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the islands of the Sunda archipelago, has highly astringent fruit that are used for pickling and as a substitute for tamarind in cooking. Mangifera minor Blume and Mangifera sylvatica Roxb., both closely related to the cultivated mango, also have palatable fruit and are of potential interest for mango breeding.

Origins of cultivation
The mango is a forest tree that was brought into cultivation in northern India thousands of years ago, although the historical record does not allow us to pinpoint its origin of cultivation. Human selection for fruit with pulpy flesh has led to a huge variety of different fruit types. Small fruit with thin flesh can be found today in populations of Mangifera indica in north-eastern India and the Andaman Islands; these forms are thought to be similar to those from the early period of domestication. Mangoes are cultivated throughout India, where they have been grown for 4000 years or more. Carvings of a mango tree found in a temple on the Indonesian island of Java confirm cultivation there from at least 900 AD. Buddhist monks helped distribute mangoes during their travels. Buddhism stipulates that one is not allowed to exploit the land for food and must rely on the generosity of others, however this did not apply to fallen fruit, which was collected and eaten. Many fruit trees were planted close to monasteries so monks could harvest the fallen fruit. The cultivated mango varied little in India until the Portuguese arrived in the late 15th century. With them came the knowledge of vegetative propagation, and so India had its first clonal mango cultivars. During the 16th century, the Portuguese embarked on their voyages of discovery, taking mangoes out of their home range for the first time, to Portuguese colonies in Africa, then to Brazil. The Spanish in Africa discovered the mango and, from there, introduced it to their colonies in the New World.

Early uses

1 of 3

10/8/2013 6:37 AM

Seeds of Trade - Printable Version

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/seeds-of-trade/print...

Linked with legend and early spiritual rituals, especially in India, the mango tree had a significance beyond that of a mere producer of fruit. Legend has it that a grove of mangoes was presented to Buddha. A mature group of mango trees, 9-12 m high, is not only beautiful, but provides shade and respite from the heat throughout tropical India. Like all trees in hot climates, transpiration of its leaves cools by evaporation and the dense, spreading, glossy leaves would warrant its use if only as an ornamental tree. Garlands of the beautiful leaves of the mango are an integral part of many Hindu functions and rituals. The name mango originated as the Portuguese 'manga', from the Tamil 'mankay' or 'mangay', which is what the natives called the tree when the Portuguese arrived in western India in about 1500 AD. From the Portuguese 'manga', the word became the English and Spanish mango.

Transfer and spread

Centuries before Europeans had ever heard of mangoes, the plant had been taken to the East Indies by travellers from India before 300 BC and by Persians to the East African coast before 1000 AD. Before the invention of refrigeration, the fruit deteriorated very quickly and could not be transported long distances. The fruit was probably therefore used only locally and some of the bitter, hardly edible varieties were only grown for the virtue of the tree's foliage and beauty. There is also the question of whether use of the mango was adopted by Europeans who arrived in the East after 1500. The English word 'chutney' is from the Hindi and was introduced into the English language as late as 1833, which does not suggest an early British use of mangoes to make the popular pickles. The Chinese were pickling all sorts of fruits and salad crops, such as cucumbers, far earlier, and it is more than possible that it was the Chinese who used mangoes first, as it is thought that the trees were introduced to southern China before 500 AD. If it was only grown as an ornamental tree, and not valued for its fruit, why did the Portuguese transfer the mango to the South American mainland after 1700 and to the West Indies before 1750? It is possible that the ability to graft mangoes, developed by the Europeans and the Chinese, may have materially altered the acid/sugar balance in the fruit, making mango fruits much more desirable. Grafted plants became widely available from Kew in the late 1860s.

Agriculture
Insect pollination is essential to set fruit, so insecticides should not be applied too close to mango trees. Seeds only remain viable for about a month an, like rubber seeds, have to be stored in charcoal. germination is uncertain but, if successful, takes about three weeks. To overcome this uncertainty, most of today's propagation is by grafting, budding, inarching or by approach grafting. This last technique involves grafting the scion stock to another rooted plant, the scion later being separated from the original stock. This is a procedure extensively used in the East Asian tropics. It is labour-intensive, tedious and expensive. In areas with high labour costs, for example Florida, veneer grafting and chip budding are preferred. Mangoes thrive at altitudes below 650 m, but can grow successfully at elevations up to 1300 m in the tropics. Their optimal temperature range is 25-28C. Soil conditions are less important than climate, but waterlogging must be avoided and plenty of root room is essential. Excessive alkalinity should be avoided. As is usual with fruit trees, too much fertility leads to an excess of woody growth and a poor fruit harvest, while a drier season promotes good fruit production. Pruning is usually unnecessary, except to eliminate dead or diseased wood. As with other fruit, picking is done when fruit is fully ripe for local sale, and slightly unripe for export. The fruits can be stored at below 5C for 15-30 days, and they can now be flown anywhere in the world.

Modern context
The mango has been called 'the apple of India' and there are said to be two million mango orchards in the subcontinent, covering nearly two-thirds of the country's fruit growing areas. Mangoes are also grown

2 of 3

10/8/2013 6:37 AM

Seeds of Trade - Printable Version

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/seeds-of-trade/print...

in lowland tropical areas in Florida, Australia, Egypt and Natal. Most of the harvest is eaten locally, but fresh fruit is exported from India to the Persian Gulf and to the East Indies. A traditional market is the pickling trade in the UK, which imports 1000 tonnes annually from India. Many of the fresh mangoes found in today's supermarkets come from the American tropics or the Caribbean. The fruits vary in size and flesh colour, which can range from dark orange and red to light orange and yellow. Ripe fruits contain about 15% sugars, 0.5% protein and 6% dry matter, rich in vitamins A, C and D. Ripe seed contains 70% carbohydrate, 6% protein, 10% fat and allergy-inducing toxins (see below). More on mango and its uses today in Plant Cultures

Post-harvest
Mangoes are made into juice, squash, jams, jellies, preserves or they can be canned. Unripe fruits are used for pickles and chutneys. They can also be sliced, sun-dried and seasoned with turmeric to produce 'amchur'; this is ground into powder and used in soup and chutneys. The hard seed-stone of mangoes is not unlike that of an avocado. In India and some other countries, it was ground up and eaten in soups or gruels in famine or near-famine years. The timber is of inferior quality, and so is used for coffins and for dugout canoes. The urine from cattle fed on the leaves can be used as a yellow dye, but prolonged ingestion will eventually kill the cattle. The fruit contains resinous oils that can cause a potentially fatal allergy in humans and cattle. Because mangoes belong to the same family as poison ivy, they can also cause similar rashes and stomach aches.

From: Seeds of trade (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/seeds)

Natural History Museum

3 of 3

10/8/2013 6:37 AM