Come Indian summers, and the one thing to look forward to are mangoes. India is the world’s largest producer of this tropical fruit, accounting for nearly 40% of global production.
Since consumers in the US, Canada and the European Union prefer less sweet varieties like Tommy Atkins, Kent, Osteen, Keitt, Maya and Lily, these markets have remained relatively untapped for exports from India. These varieties are currently imported by the US and Europe from Brazil, Mexico and Peru.
Traditional varieties like the Sonpari, Alphonso, Amrapali, Kesar, Dashehari, Totapuri and Rajapuri are too sweet for the European and American palates. They prefer less sweet mangoes to use in salads, according to sources.
Navsari varsity orchard
Navsari Agriculture University (NAU) has been growing these popular US and European varieties at its orchard in Paria farm for more than a decade and has obtained good yields. The orchard grows 160 mango varieties.
While traditional Indian varieties have a sweetness index above 20, these varieties have a sweetness index of less than 15.
Palmer gave the highest number of fruits per tree, between 246 and 256, as well as the highest average fruit weight, between 667 to 691 gm. The yield was 19 tonnes per hectare, according to NAU sources.
In terms of fruit length, Maya reigned with its length varying between 14.33 cm and 14.74 cm. Kent recorded the minimum fruit yield with 51.27 kg/tree.
Area under cultivation
The area under mango cultivation in Gujarat is 1.66 lakh hectares with production of 12.19 lakh MT. The major mango growing districts in Gujarat are Valsad, Navsari, Gir Somnath, Kutch and Surat.
The main mango growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. India exports fresh mangoes to the UAE, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bangladesh.
The area under mango cultivation and the production of the fruit in India is 23.15 lakh ha and 208.99 lakh MT respectively, with productivity of 9.03 MT per ha.
Also Read: Parimal Nathwani Reveals First Ever Gujarat Super League’s Trophy
