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Haden: Averages a little less than a pound and is quite round for a mango, with only a slightly oval shape. Its skin turns from green to yellow-orange when ripe. The flesh is yellow in colour, firm, juicy and is abundant in fibre. The flavour is rich and sweet with a weak pleasant aroma. This variety is on the market from late May through June.

Tommy Atkins: This most common variety averages one pound in weight, is medium-large and neatly oval, with a rounded apex. The skin is quite thick, orangey or rosy yellow, speckled or blushed. The flesh is yellow, mild and sweet with a strong pleasant aroma and contains an average amount of fibre. Tommy Atkins is on the market from late May to July and is the leading mango variety grown in Florida.

Kent: This variety is large, plump and irregularly oval, with an average weight of 1 1/4 pounds. When ripe, the skin is orange-yellow and blushed slightly with deep red. The flesh is yellow-gold in colour, juicy and fibreless. The sweet, richly tropical flavour has a lovely acid-lime finish, with piny overtones. The Kent can be found on the market from late June into August.

Keitt: The Keitt is the heftiest, plumpest, largest commercial mango variety available, averaging 1 3/4 but reaching 3 pounds. It remains green when ripe, with only a very faint yellow or rose blush. The yellow-gold flesh is juicy, fibreless except close to the seed. Light in aroma, it has a full flavour, with pronounced lemony tang and medium sweetness. The Keitt is available from late July through September.

Of Mexican mangoes, 65 percent are Florida selections (Haden, Keitt, Kent, Irwin and Tommy Atkins) and 35 percent are of the type commonly grown in the Philippines (manila). Over a period of 3 years detailed studies have been made of the commercial cultivars in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, with a view to determining the most profitable for export. Results indicated that propagation of "Purple Irwin", "Red Irwin", "Sensation" and "Zill" should be discontinued and that "Haden", "Kent" and "Keitt" will continue to be planted; the first two because of their colour and quality and the third in spite of its deficiency in colour. "Manila", a Philippine mango, early-ripening, is much grown in Veracruz, Mexico "Manzanillo-Nunez", a chance seedling first noticed in 1972, is gaining in popularity because of its regular bearing, skin colour (75 percent red), nearly fibreless flesh, good quality, high yield and resistance to anthracnose. Ataulfo, another chance seedling originated in Chiapas, México has been exported successfully to the US market. Its fibre-free texture, firmer body and attractive orange colour have encouraged producers to start new plantations with this variety.

"Julie" is the main mango exported from the West Indies to Europe. The fruit is somewhat flattened on one side, of medium size; the flesh is not completely fibreless but is of good flavour. It came to Florida from Trinidad but has long been popular in Jamaica. The tree is somewhat dwarf, has 30 percent to 50 percent hermaphrodite flowers; bears well and regularly. It is adaptable to humid environments and disease-resistant and the fruit is resistant to the fruit fly. "Julie" has been grown in Ghana since the early 1920s. From "Julie", the well-known mango breeder, Lawrence Zill, developed "Carrie", but "Julie" has not been planted in Florida for many years.

Grafted plants of the "Bombay Green" variety, so popular in Jamaica, were brought there from India in 1869 by the then governor, Sir John Peter Grant, but were planted in Castleton gardens where the trees flourished but failed to fruit in the humid atmosphere. Years later, a Director of Agriculture had budwood from these trees transferred to rootstocks at Hope Gardens. The results were so successful that the "Bombay Green" became commonly planted on the island. The author brought six grafted trees from Jamaica to Miami in 1951 and, after they were released from quarantine, distributed them to the Subtropical Experiment Station in Homestead, the Newcomb Nursery and a private grower, but all succumbed to the cold in succeeding winters. The fruit is completely fibreless and stone free so that it is frequently served cut in half and eaten with a spoon. The seed is pierced with a mango fork and served also so that the luscious flesh that adheres to it may be enjoyed as well.

One of the best-known mangoes peculiar to the West Indies is "Madame Francis", which is produced abundantly in Haiti. It is a large, flattened, kidney-shaped mango, light green, slightly yellowish when ripe, with orange, low-fibre, richly flavoured flesh. This mango has been regularly exported to Florida in late spring after fumigation against the fruit fly.

Ghana received more than a dozen cultivars back in the early 1920s. In 1973, it was found that only three of these: "Julie", "Jaffna" and "Rupee" could be recognized with certainty. More than a dozen other cultivars were brought in much later from Florida and India. An effort was begun in 1967 to classify the seedlings (from 10 to 50 years of age) in the Ejura district, the Ejura Agricultural Station and the plantation of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in order to eliminate confusion and have identifiable cultivars marked for future research. After checking with available published material on other cultivars for possible resemblance, descriptions and photographs of 21 newly named cultivars were published in 1973. Of these, 12 are fibrous and 9 fibreless.

In Venezuela, eleven cultivars were evaluated by food technologists for processing suitability: "Blackman", "Glenn", "Irwin", "Kent", "Lippens", "Martinica", "Sensation", "Smith", "Selection 80", "Selection 85" and "Zill". The most appropriate, because of physicochemical characteristics and productivity were determined to be: "Glenn", "Irwin", "Kent" and "Zill".

In Guatemala there are several varieties. After years of studying and observing harvests, one variety named "Criollo" has excellent organoleptic qualities, distinct and unique in its kind. It has a natural Brix of 20 to 22 degrees. However, aseptic mango purees with a natural Brix of up to 28 degrees have been produced, depending on the area the fruit is grown in. Its natural pH varies from 4.0 to 4.2, making its acidification unnecessary. These characteristics allow producers to offer the world-market a unique 100 percent mango puree, with an intense orange colour and an exquisitely deep aroma. Aseptic puree from "Criollo" mangoes is produced during the months of May, June and July.

In Hawaii, "Haden" has represented 90 percent of all commercial production. "Pairi" is more prized for home use but is a shy bearer, a poor keeper, not as colourful as 'Haden', so it never attained commercial status. In a search for earlier and later varieties of commercial potential, over 125 varieties were collected and tested between 1934 and 1969. In 1956, one of the winning entries in a mango contest attracted much attention. After propagation and due observation it was named 'Gouveia' in 1969 and described as: ovate-oblong, of medium size, with medium-thick, ochre-yellow skin blushed with blood red over 2/3 of the surface. Flesh is orange, nearly fibreless, sweet and juicy. Seed is small, slender, monoembryonic. Season: late. Tree is of medium size, a consistent but not heavy bearer. In quality tests 'Gouveia' received top scoring over "Haden", "Pairi" and several other cultivars. Florida mangoes rated as promising for Hawaii were "Pope", "Kent", "Keitt", "Brooks" (later than "Haden") "Earlygold" and "Zill" (earlier than "Haden").

In the Philippines, the "Carabao" constitutes 66 percent of the crop and 'Pico' 26 percent. These cultivars, apparently of Southeast Asian origin have remained the most commonly grown and exported for many years.

The mango, known as "mamuang" in Thailand, is one of Thailand's premier tropical fruits and Thailand produces some of the most delicious mangoes in the world. Ripe mangoes are eaten for dessert while pickles and chutney are prepared from unripe fruit. Thailand's tropical climate is perfect for high quality and abundant mango growth. As well as the long tropical rainy season from July to October, Thailand's equally long dry season from November to March gives the mango tree its much-needed protection from bacteria and fungus. It is significant that the mango season occurs towards the end of the dry season and just months before a new rainy season. When the country's tropical heat reaches its height in April and May, the mangoes ripen.

In Israel, "Haden" has been popular for a long time though it is sensitive to low temperatures in spring. An Egyptian introduction, "Mabroka" is later in season and escapes the early frosts. "Maya", a local seedling of "Haden" has done well. Perhaps the most promising today is "Nimrod", a seedling of "Maya", open pollinated, perhaps by "Haden", planted in 1943, observed for 20 years and budded progeny for another 9 years; named and released in 1970. The fruit is round ovate, large; skin is fairly thin, olive-green to yellow-green, blushed with red; attractive. Flesh is deep yellow, nearly fibreless, of good flavour.

It is impressive to see how the early favourite, "Haden", has influenced mango culture in many parts of the world. Today, the Subtropical Horticulture Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research and Education Centre of the University of Florida, together maintain 125 mango cultivars as a resource for mango growers and breeders in many countries (Morton, 1987).

Mango production in Mexico

The season for mangoes in Mexico starts in February and continues until September. Mangoes bound for export are mainly produced in states of Michoacán, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco and Chiapas. The types of mangoes that are cultivated in Mexico are Ataulfo, Haden, Tommy Atkins, Irwing, Keitt, Kent, Manila, Palmer, Sensation and Van Dyke (Emex, 2000).

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