Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Mango (
Mangifera indica
L.) is also known as manga (Tamil), mangga (the
Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia) and manguier (French). It is one of the
best-known and most widely cultivated tropical fruit species, with production
occurring in most countries in the tropics and subtropics. The fruit is marketed
fresh, dried and as a juice, and is used as a source of fl avours, fragrances and
colourants.
BOTANY
Mango (
M. indica
L.) belongs to the family
Anacardiaceae
,
also known as the
cashew family, with about 75 genera and 700 species, mostly tropical, with
some subtropical and temperate species. Common nut-bearing species include
Anacardium occidentale
L., cashew nut, and
Pistacia vera
L., pistachio nut. Other
related fresh fruits are in the genus
Spondias
: the yellow mombin or hog plum
(
Spondias mombin
L.), the ambarella or June plum (
Spondias cyhterea
or
Spondias
dulcis
Forst.),
and the purple mombin (
Spondias purpurea
L.). Another species
belonging to this family is the marula (
Sclerocarya birrea
spp.
caf ra
Sand) of
Africa.
The genus
Mangifera
consists of 69 species but not all bear edible fruit. The
mango fruit is large, fl eshy and sometimes fi brous (Fig. 10.1). Other species in
the genus bearing edible fruit include
Mangifera altissima
Blanco,
Mangifera
caesia
Jack.,
Mangifera foetida
Lour.,
Mangifera lagenifera
Grif .,
Mangifera odorata
Grif .,
Mangifera zeylanica
(BL) Hooker and
Mangifera sylvatica
Roxb.
Origin and distribution
The mango originated in the Indo-Burma region and has been cultivated
in India for more than 4000 years. This fruit is intimately associated with
the Hindu religion and there are numerous ancient Sanskrit poems praising