How does mango grow? This question was probably asked by everyone who tried the exotic tropical fruit for the first time. A plant with fleshy fruits - orange or reddish, fragrant and juicy, sour-sweet inside and greenish-red outside - is it a tree or a bush? From which countries are fruits delivered to supermarket shelves? And is it possible to grow full-fledged fruit-bearing mangifers from oblong seeds - seeds of mango fruits - at home?
Mango - a fruit and decorative plant
Mango, or mangifer, is cultivated as a fruit and ornamental plant. Evergreen trees of Mangifera indica (Indian Mango) belong to the family Sumakhovy (Anacardium). They have glossy dark green (or with a reddish tint) foliage and grow to gigantic sizes. But with proper and regular pruning can be quite compact.
The flowering mango tree is an unforgettable sight. It is strewn with large pink inflorescences-panicles that exude a unique aroma. Therefore, the plant is grown not only for the sake of obtaining fruits, but also for use in landscape design (when decorating parks, squares, personal plots, private greenhouses, conservatories, etc.). However, its main purpose in exporting countries is, after all, agricultural.
So grows green (Filipino) mango
Countries and regions of growth
Mangifera comes from the humid tropics of Assam in India and the forests of Myanmar. It is considered a national treasure among the Indians and in Pakistan. It is grown in tropical Asia, in the west of Malaysia, in the Solomon Islands and east of the Malay Archipelago, in California (USA) and tropical Australia, in Cuba and Bali, the Canaries and the Philippines.
India is considered the largest supplier of mangoes in the world - annually it provides the market with more than thirteen and a half million tons of these fruits. Mango is cultivated in Europe - in the Canary Islands and in Spain. Ideal conditions for the plant - a hot climate with not too much rain. Despite the fact that on the shelves of supermarkets you can find mango juice of Armenian origin, the mangifer in Armenia does not grow.
You can meet her:
- in Thailand - the country's climate is perfect for tropical plants, the mango harvest season is from April to May, and Thais love to enjoy ripe fruits;
- in Indonesia, as well as in Bali, the mango harvesting season is autumn-winter, from October to January;
- in Vietnam - winter-spring, from January to March;
- in Turkey - mangifer is not very common, but is grown, and ripens in the middle or near the end of summer;
- in Egypt - mango ripens from the beginning of summer, June, until the fall, until September, it is even exported to other countries;
- In Russia - in the south of Stavropol and in the Krasnodar Territory (Sochi), but rather as a decorative plant (blooms in May, and bears fruit by the end of summer).
Fruits of indian mango on tree
The genus has more than 300 species, some varieties were cultivated several thousand years ago. In tropical countries, you can try mangoes Alfonso, Bauno, Quini, Pajang, Blanco, smelling, bottled and others, in Russia Indian mangoes with a reddish barrel, and South Asian (Filipino) mangoes are green.
Mangifer is very sensitive to cold, which is why in the middle latitudes it can be grown only in heated rooms - winter gardens, greenhouses, greenhouses. Trees need a lot of light, but they do not need rich soil.
On young trees, even a short-term drop in air temperature below plus five degrees Celsius will negatively affect the flowers and their fruits will die. Adult mangoes can withstand small frosts for short periods of time.
Video: how mango grows
Long-lived tree
Shady mango trees with a wide rounded crown grow up to twenty meters or more in height, develop very quickly (if they have enough heat and light, and humidity is not too high) and live long - there are even three hundred year old specimens in the world who are even at such a venerable age bear fruit. Access to water and useful minerals in the soil to these plants is provided by long roots (pivotal), which grow underground under a depth of five to six, or even nine to ten meters.
Mangoes are evergreen and non-deciduous, very beautiful trees. They are decorative all year round. The leaves of mature mangoes are oblong, dark green above, and significantly lighter underneath, with well-visible pale streaks, dense and glossy. The young foliage of the shoots has a reddish color. Inflorescences are similar to panicles - pyramidal - number up to two thousand yellow, pinkish or orangeish, and sometimes red flowers each. But only a few of them (two or three per inflorescence) are pollinated and bear fruit. There are varieties that do not require pollination at all.
Pyramidal Inflorescences of Mango
In conditions where humidity is increased, with a large amount of precipitation, the mangifer does not bear fruit. Fruits are not tied either when the air temperature (including at night) drops below plus twelve degrees Celsius. Mango trees begin to bloom and bear fruit only five to six years after their planting. In a greenhouse or at home, you can see flowers and fruits of a mangifer only if the seedlings are bought grafted or planted on their own. And at the same time, observe the necessary parameters of humidity and air temperature, properly care and trim.
In the countries where the mangifer grows, it forms whole mango forests and is considered the same agricultural crop as ours, for example, wheat or corn. Under natural conditions (in the wild) the plant can reach thirty meters in height, has a crown diameter of up to eight meters, its lanceolate leaves grow up to forty centimeters in length. Fruits after pollination of flowers ripen within three months.
Only in conditions of cultivation can two mango crops be obtained, in the wild mango trees bear fruit once a year.
So the mangifer blooms
Mango fruit
The unusual appearance of mangifers trees always attracts the attention of tourists who visit tropical countries for the first time. Their fruits ripen on long (about sixty centimeters) shoots - former panicles - two or more on each, have an oblong shape (curved, ovoid, flattened), up to twenty-two centimeters in length and about seven hundred grams each.
The peel of the fruit - glossy, like a wax - is colored depending on the type of plant and the degree of ripeness of the fruit - in different tones of yellow, orange, red, green. Traces of flowers are visible at the ends of the fruit. The peel is considered inedible, as it contains substances that cause allergic reactions.
Indians and Asians use mangoes in home medicine - they are considered an effective folk remedy that stops bleeding, strengthens the heart muscle and improves brain activity. Ripe selected mangoes have a shiny surface, without spots and bruises (the color of the peel depends on the variety), their flesh is not hard, but also not too soft, juicy, fragrant, with a fibrous structure. Unripe mango fruit can be wrapped in dark opaque paper and put in a warm place. After about a week, it will ripen and be ready for use.
In India, mangifer is eaten at any degree of maturity. The fruits are washed thoroughly, separated with a knife from the bone, peeled and cut into slices. Or they cut half the fruit into cubes directly on the peel.
Mango fruits are cut into cubes or slices.
In our family everyone loves mangoes. We eat it fresh or use the pulp of fruits in combination with other fruits to make vitamin smoothies or smoothies, soufflés, mousses, puddings, home baked goods. It turns out very tasty. In mango salads, it goes well with seafood and chicken breast. But I did not succeed in growing a tree from the seed, although I tried it several times. The fact is that for transportation tropical fruits are not fully ripened, and the seeds then germinate far from always.
What does mango taste like
The taste of mango, perhaps, cannot be compared with any other - it is special and unique. Sometimes aromatic, juicy-sweet, sometimes with a pleasant and refreshing acidity. It all depends on the degree of ripeness of the fruit, variety, region of growth. For example, in Thai mangoes there is a light coniferous aroma. The consistency of the pulp of all fruits is thick, delicate, somewhat reminiscent of apricot, but with the presence of stiff plant fibers. The brighter the peel of the mango, the flesh of the fruit will be sweeter.
Mango juice, if it accidentally gets on clothes, is not washed. The bone from the pulp is poorly separated. The pulp protects the seeds of the plant (seeds inside the fruit) from damage. It contains sugar (more in ripe), starch and pectin (more in green), vitamins and minerals, organic acids and other usefulnesses.
Unripe mangoes contain a lot of vitamin C, they taste sour. Ripe mangoes are sweet, as they contain a lot of sugars (up to twenty percent), and fewer acids (only half a percent).
Mangifera at home
Mango as an ornamental plant can be grown in a house or in an apartment, but not in a household or summer cottage (if the site is not in a region with a tropical or subtropical climate). For home breeding acquire dwarf varieties of mango. Mango trees are also sprouted from the bone of the purchased fruit. But the fruit must be fully ripe.
Young mango seedlings grown at home
Mangifera propagates by sowing seeds, and vaccinations, and vegetatively. An ungrafted indoor plant is unlikely to bloom and bear fruit, but even without it it looks very aesthetically pleasing. In fairness, it should be noted that grafted seedlings do not always bear fruit in indoor, greenhouse or greenhouse conditions.
Dwarf mangoes grow in the form of compact trees up to one and a half to two meters in height. If you plant an ordinary plant from seed, then it will be necessary to carry out regular forming pruning of the crown. In favorable conditions, the mangifer grows very intensively, therefore, it usually needs to be transplanted into a larger pot once a year, and pruning several times a year.
During a period of intensive growth, it is advisable to fertilize the plant, without fertilizing and sufficient illumination of mangoes at home grows with thin stems and small leaves. In summer, the crown of a mango tree needs to be sprayed. And in winter, place the mangifer closer to the heat source.
Video: how to grow a mango from a stone at home
Mango is a tropical tree that yields delicious, juicy, fragrant fruits. It grows in countries with a warm, not too humid climate, does not tolerate cold weather. Mangifera is also grown as an ornamental plant at home, but rarely blooms and bears fruit - only grafted trees, and subject to the necessary climatic parameters.
