ISHS Acta Horticulturae 291: III International Mango Symposium
RECENT ADVANCES IN VARIETAL IMPROVEMENT IN MANGO |
| Author: | C.P.A. Iyer |
| Abstract:
The genus Manqifera comprises of 39 species as per the present indications of which the largest concentration of species (19) is in the Malay peninsula followed by Borneo and Indochina (10 each) and Thailand (9). Of these, 14 species have edible fruits and 17 species are closely related to the major cultivated species. There is need to conserve these species in situ as well as ex situ to prevent genetic erosion as well as to utilise them in hybridisation programme and to study their potential as rootstocks. Inter-varietal hybridisation is in progress in some Research Centres while this is totally ignored in many countries. The long gestation period for evaluating the hybrids and the long testing time for the selected hybrids for commercialisation have been a disincentive in mango breeding. However, techniques are now available to minimise the time lag. The main objectives in mango breeding are;
Success in breeding has been obtained for many of these traits, and new hybrids having desirable characters are available now. New techniques for pre-selection in mango for vigour have been developed which should be helpful to fruit breeders. The need for evaluating vegetative propagation vs. seed propagation (apomictic) is emphasised so as to minimise many problems. Similarly, utilisation of polyembryonic varieties and the need for creating more variability among them, need attention of the mango breeders. This would also imply that rootstock breeding in mango, which has been totally overlooked, will have to be initiated. In general, mango breeding research is rewarding in spite of the long time taken for obtaining desirable results. | |
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