Tropical fruits: Mango

Mango is one of the most popular tropical fruits in the world and is often known as the "apple of the tropics". This page gives some basic information about mango, followed by some photos, mango proverbs and mango recipes.

Scientific name:	Mangifera indica L.
Family:	Anacardiaceae
Order:	Sapindales
Common names:	Mango, Mangot, Manga, Mangou English: Mango Dutch: Mango German: Mangobaum, Mangofrucht French: Mangue, Fruit du Manguier Italian: Mango Spanish: Mango
Origin:	Southern Asia, Burma, eastern India
Distribution:	All tropical regions of the world.
Evergreen or deciduous:	Evergreen
Flowers:	Yellowish or creamy color
Leaves:	Dark green above and pale below. Flushes of young leaves are usually reddish or yellowish.
Climate and weather:	Lowland tropical and subtropical areas. Requires a frost-free climate. Must have warm dry weather to set fruit.
Pollination:	Pollination by flies, hoverflies, bees. High humidity and rain will result in poor pollination. Mango trees are monoecious and self-fertile.
Height:	10-15 meter (but sometimes higher)
Crown size:	4-7 meter (or even bigger)
Blooming period	December-January (Thailand)
Type of soil:	Any well-drained soil.
Preferred pH:	5.5 - 7.5
Moisture:	Moderate. Avoid wet soils.
Light:	Full-day sunlight
Growth rate:	Moderate
Spacing (close range)	4 meter
Spacing (wide range)	8 meter
Canopy:	Often broad and rounded. Good as a shade tree.
Propagation:	Grafting of selected cultivars on seedling rootstocks
Insect pests:	Scales, mealybugs, mites, psyllids, fruit flies.
Diseases:	Powdery mildew on flowers, bacterial spot on leaves and fruits, anthracnose
Fruit development:	From flowering to maturity takes 100-150 days.
Harvesting:	Pick mangos when fully ripe off the tree.
Uses:	Eat as a dessert fruit. Also used to produce juice, jam or jelly. Unripe fruits can be used to prepare pickles or chutney.

Photos

Mango tree with fruits

Group of mango fruits hanging from tree

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Mango flowers and young leaves

Mango flush of young leaves

Psyllid on mango leaf

Mango fruit in tree

Basket with mango fruits harvested

Mango flushing of young leaves

Mango fruit

Mango fruit in tree

Orchard with mango trees full of fruits

Grafting of mango seedlings

Grafting of mango

Mango trees in orchard

Proverbs

You don't throw rocks at a green mango.
An ant guarding a mango.

"Big Mango" is the nickname for Bangkok (Thailand) just like "Big Apple" is the nickname for New York City

Recipes

Mangoes with cream

Ingredients:
Ripe mango (not overripe), whipped cream (not too sweet)

Instructions:
Peel the mango and cut in small cubes or slices. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Serve with the whipped cream.

Mango sauce

Ingredients:
2 ripe mangoes (not overripe), 4 tablespoons fine sugar (or less), 2 tablespoons rum, Lime or lemon juice

Instructions:
Peel the the mango and remove all the mango flesh off the seed. Put the mango flesh in a blender together with the sugar and the rum and blend until you have a smooth sauce. To adjust the taste you can add some lime or lemon juice. Use this sauce in combination with tropical fruit salads. Poor the sauce over cubed and chilled pieces of fruit, or use it as a dip for pieces of fruit (pineapple, banana, papaya, etc.)