The mango, Mangifera indica, probably originated in a region on the border between India and Burma. Today, there are certainly more than a thousand different varieties around the world. The mango plays an important role as a foodstuff in many countries. A distinction was originally made between two main families of mango with clearly different features that came from two diversification zones—the Indian sub-continent and tropical Asia. A great many of the commercial varieties grown today were bred in Florida at the beginning of the Twentieth Century from multiple crosses between parents from these two families. Exported fruits are generally from budded plants.
The mango is suited to a broad tropical climate ranging from humid to dry. It is found in regions with very different annual precipitation. In the tropics, the halting of vegetation caused by a dry or cool season lasting for a few weeks or months is a condition for good flowering intensity and hence high productivity. Production is often small and irregular in equatorial humid zones as a result of the absence of vegetative growth. The optimum temperature range for tree development and fruit growth is 24° to 30°C. Temperatures lower than 10°C can cause physiological damage. Water supply to the tree must be optimum throughout the fruit growth period and then during the growth of new shoots. Rainfall distribution over the year is more important than cumulative annual precipitation, especially for the production of high-quality fruits. The lower limit for precipitation for commercial mango growing seems to be 750 mm. The mango can grow in a very varied range of soil types if the underlying horizons are sufficiently loose and well-drained. However, the tree prefers deep, fairly light soils with average structure. It can suffer from water shortage in sandy soil and produce small, insipid fruits. It is sensitive to salts in the soil and in irrigation water. Wind can cause damage of varying seriousness and cause imbalance in the water supply. Windbreaks should therefore be grown in windy areas before mango trees are planted.
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