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Very often
we hear, people swearing that the Carabao mango is
the best mango in the world. Sometimes, it is very
hard to argue with these persons, especially if they
are Filipinos.
However, the truth is, that there are many strains
of Carabao mango and while some of them are really
superior in quality, there are also some that are
not that good.
Some Carabao mangoes produce big fruits (250 to more
than 300 grams each), have thin seed, scant fiber,
and are very sweet. There are also Carabao mangoes
that are not so desirable
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| Photo shows an
INFERIOR BATANGAS STRAIN Carabao Mango
bought from unreliable nursery with one peso
as reference size |
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Examples
are the strains that used to be found in Cavite and Batangas
which produce smaller fruits (about 6 pieces to a kilo),
have big seed and are fibrous.
One well known company in Guimaras had the
mistake of planting the inferior variety on more than 200
hectares more than 14 years ago. The trees grew all right,
but their production was a nightmare. Many of the trees did
not fruit regularly. Most of the harvest were small. When
the trees are sprayed with flower inducer, many of them
would produce new leaves instead of flowers. After failing
to produce a profitable harvest for several years, the
owners have decided to abandon the plantation. We recently
met one of the top officials of the company, and he revealed
that the owners were very disappointed. They have asked the
advice of several experts, yet they could not make the mango
farm profitable.
Since we are in the business of propagating fruit
trees, we went last year to the National Mango Research and
Development Center in San Miguel, Jordan, Guimaras to buy
some 5,000 budstick (scions) from their best strains. We
learned that out of the 150 original trees in their
collection, only four trees were observed to be superior.
After rigid testing, these have been proven to be
really outstanding. Subsequently, there were registered and
approved by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC),
formerly known as the Philippine Seed Board.
The four outstanding Guimaras mangoes are now known as
GES - 73, GES - 77, GES - 84 and GES - 85, stands for
Guimaras Experimental Station.
The approval for the certification of the four GES
selections was done primarily through the efforts of Mrs.
Soņa Covache in 1987 who did her own evaluations of the
fruits. She was also responsible for sending samples to the
Bureau of Plant Industry office in Manila through the late
Miss Priscila dela Cruz and Mrs. Rose R. Bautista for their
final evaluation.
By 1993, the four selections were approved by the
Philippine Seed Board. Below is the description of the
different selections.
GES - 73
- Fruit mature in 90 days from blooming (120 days from
flower induction). The fruit is oblong, 289.6 grams, and the
skin is yellow when ripe. The flesh is dark yellow, juicy,
aromatic and with excellent eating quality. The seed is 26
grams.
GES - 77
- The fruit is oblong, 297.4
grams, maturing at 90 days from blooming. Skin is yellow.
Flesh aromatic, soft and soggy but with excellent eating
quality. Oblong seed is 26.40 grams.
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GES - 84
- Fruits, oblong 276.5 grams, maturing 90 days from
blooming. Flesh is dark yellow, very juicy,
aromatic, smooth and firm, with excellent eating
quality. Seed is 28 grams.
GES - 85
- Fruit is oblong, 290 grams. Skin is yellow while
the flesh is light yellow. The fruit is very juicy,
smooth, firm with excellent eating quality.
(The weight of the fruits mentioned are those
obtained under Guimaras conditions. If the trees are
grown in areas that are much more fertile, the
fruits could be bigger.) |
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There are two other outstanding mango selections
that have been made by the Mango Research and
Development Center in Guimaras. These are the Fresco
and Talaban selections.
The Fresco
mature in 90 days from blooming. The oblong fruit is
249.9 grams, orange yellow, firm and juicy, has mild
aroma, scanty fiber and excellent eating quality. It
has a high edible portion, very sweet. The seed is
25.3 grams.
The Talaban
selection also matures in
90 days from blooming. The fruit is 249 grams,
orange yellow skin when ripe. The flesh is orange
yellow, firm, juicy, has mild aroma, scanty fiber,
and excellent eating quality. The seed is only 24.1
grams, hence it has a high edible portion.
Other outstanding Carabao mango selection that have
been approved by the NSIC are
Lamao No. 1
and the MMSU Gold.
The latter is a selection made by the Mariano Marcos
State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
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WHAT TO DO.
What can one do if he planted the
wrong Carabao mango?
If the tree is already big, you can topwork it, Cut
down some of the main branches in one side and allow them to
produce new branches. When the new branches are about the
size of the small finger and they have become woody, graft
onto the new branches scions from the superior Carabao
mango.
We suggest that you cut only the branches on one side
of the tree first. That is because if you cut down all the
branches of a big tree leaving no leaves, there is the
possibility that the whole tree will die. You can do the
topworking of the other side of the tree after the other
side has been successfully topworked.
Another possibility is to cut down all the top branches
retaining a few of the lower branches with leaves. This will
make sure that the tree will not die.
If the uncertified trees you have planted are still
small, you can graft onto them a scion of a recommended
variety. Or you can plant a grafted seedling of a superior
variety beside that uncertified tree, and then join the two
by means of inarching. When the two have fully joined,
remove the top of the uncertified mango. This way, you will
have a mango tree with superior quality that has a double
rootstock.
According to our own experience, mangoes with double or
multiple rootstocks grow much faster than those with single
rootstock. They are more resistant to strong winds. We also
observed them to be more productive.
SUPERIOR TREES MASS
PRODUCED. Meanwhile, we
are mass propagating the superior Guimaras varieties.
The 5,000 busdsticks obtained from the original mother
trees are growing very well. We have now planted our own
scion grave in Quezon from which we will continue mass
producing them.
We have also obtained mother plants of the Talaban,
Fresco and MMSU Gold selections and we will also grow them
in big numbers |
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