Mango Tree

Kingdom	Plantae
Unranked	Angiosperms
Unranked	Eudicots
Order	Sapindales
Family	Anacardiaceae
Genus	Mangifera
Species	M.indica
Binomial name	Mangifera indica

Other Common Names:

The other common names for the mango tree are manga, manja, mangot and manguier.

History

There are over 500 named varieties of the mango. The generic name is derived from 'mango', the Indian name for the fruit, and the Latin 'fero' ('I bear').The mango is known as the 'king of fruit' throughout the world. The name 'mango' is derived from the Tamil word 'mangkay' or 'man-gay'.

When the Portuguese traders settled in Western India they adopted the name as 'manga'.Though the progenitors of the mango are not known it is believed to be originated in Indo-Burma, notably the Assam-Chittagong Hills.The cultivation of mangoes spread to other countries only from India,like about 1500 years ago in Southeast Asia,1000 years ago to the east coast of Africa and only some hundred years ago to America.In India one can even get to see a mango of nearly 250 years to yield fruits.

Description

Mango is a tall evergreen tropical tree growing up 30 - 100 feet tall with a dense, heavy crown. The trunk is stout and the bark brown, smoothish, with many thin fissures; thick, becoming darker, rough and scaly or furrowed; branchlets rather stout, pale green and hairless.

Inner bark light brown and bitter. The evergreen drooping leaves resemble those of the peach tree.The leaves are lance shaped with a slight curve which are as young leaves coppery to purplish-red and later becomes green.The male - and hermaphroditic flowers of mango, small ivory and very numerous, and fruit clusters hang outside the foliage canopy. Mango flowers are visited by flies, bats, bees, wasps, butterflies and other insects. The single, compressed-ovoid seed is encased in the white fibrous inner layer of the fruit.

Range

The mango is native to southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India. It spread early on to Malaya, eastern Asia and eastern Africa.

Habitat

The mango tree grows best in full sun, good drainage and on different types of soil. Mango tolerates drought and salt tolerance. The mango thrives in both the subtropics and the tropics.

Cultivation

Land should be prepared by deep ploughing followed by harrowing and levelling with a gentle slope for good drainage.Once the seed of the mangoes are planted it germinates in two to four weeks and in a perod of three to six years it starts yielding fruits.The best favourabe time for grafting is April through September.In dry areas they can be planted with a space of 10 m x 10 m and in areas which has a heavy rainfall and rich soil they can be spaced apart by a distance of 12 m x 12 m.One year old healthy, straight growing grafts from reliable sources can be planted at the centre of pits along with the ball of the earth intact during rainy season in such a way that the roots are not expanded and the graft union is above the ground level.In the initial years of the growth irrigation and shade are an important factors and care should be taken to see that they grow straight.Factors like the one meter from the base on the main trunk should be kept free from branching and the main stem can be allowed thereafter spaced at 20-25 cm apart in such a way that they grow in different directions.

Flowering Season

The flowers of the Mango tree bloom from May through April.

Pests and Diseases

Powdery mildew is one of the most serious diseases of mango affecting almost all the varieties where white superficial powdery fungal growth on leaves, stalks of panicles, flowers and young fruits may occur.Anothere major disease is die back whic causes drying of twigs and branches followed by complete defoliation.

Parts Used

The fruit, bark, latex, leaves and the seeds of the mango are used for its commercial and medicinal purposes.

Medicinal Applications

• An infusion of the leaves or bark helps against hypertension and promotes a good blood circulation.

• Charred and pulverized leaves make a plaster to remove warts and also act as a styptic.

• Seeds are used to treat stubborn colds and coughs, obstinate diarrhoea and bleeding piles.

• The bark is astringent, homeostatic and antirheumatic.

• The bark contains mangiferine and is astringent and employed against rheumatism and diphtheria in India.

• The resinous gum from the trunk is applied on cracks in the skin of the feet and on scabies, and is believed helpful in cases of syphilis.

• Extracts of unripe fruits and of bark, stems and leaves have shown antibiotic activity.

• In some of the islands of the Caribbean, the leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diarrhea, fever, chest complaints, diabetes, hypertension and other ills.

• A combined decoction of mango and other leaves is taken after childbirth.

Commercial Applications

• The fruit is also used to flavour fish and meat dishes.

• Young leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

• Seed kernels are a by-product of processing; they can be used as feed for cattle and poultry.

• It is an important honey plant, secreting large quantities of nectar.

• The wood makes excellent charcoal and firewood.

• The wood is used for many purposes, including indoor construction, meat-chopping blocks, furniture, carpentry, flooring, boxes, crates and boat building (canoes and dugouts).

• The fruit is eaten raw and is used most of the Indian cuisine.