The Australian National Mango Breeding Program - In search of improved cultivars for the new millennium

Abstract

The Australian mango industry is predominantly based on a single cultivar Kensington Pride. Although this cultivar is popular in the domestic market, it has a number of limitations, which impact greatly on the economics of production. Problems such as excessive tree vigour, unreliable flowering and poor fruit-set result in low and irregular cropping. Fruit quality of Kensington Pride also suffers from short shelf life, susceptibility to sap burn, inconsistency in development of red blush and internal physiological disorders. Although chemical means aimed at overcoming some of these limitations have been useful, cultivar research and breeding are being looked at for more sustainable and long term solutions. The Australian National Mango Breeding Program was initiated in year 1994 as a joint project between four Australian state and federal agricultural organisations to develop superior genotypes. In most crosses, Kensington Pride was used as one of the parents and crossed with a range of Floridian, Indian and Asian cultivars. Emasculation and hand pollination was used to evolve over 1800 crosses involving 33 parental combinations with 40 to 50 each in most of the crosses. These hybrids are being evaluated in two different environmental conditions, one in the humid tropical climate of Darwin and the other in the dry milder tropical conditions of Mareeba district in Queensland. Results from the early phases of the program are presented together with some promising early outcomes and plans for the future. Over 300 progenies fruited by year 2000, of which six outstanding crosses have been selected for regional testing. The project will also generate valuable information on inheritance of various traits for future breeding work.