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Mangifera indica
Anacardiaceae FAMILY

Mangifera indica

Mangifera indica

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

In sensitive individuals, ingestion of the fruit or skin contact with the juice may cause a rash like that of poison ivy[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthMedium

The optimal climate for growing mango ranges from the monsoon tropics to the frost-free subtropics, with a marked dry, or cool, season of at least three months to promote flowering[2, 1]. It succeeds at any elevation up to about 1,200 metres, but for commercial purposes 600 metres is the maximum elevation[1, 3]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 24 - 30°c, but can tolerate 8 - 48°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive short-lived temperatures down to about -1°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,600mm[3]. The dry season of equatorial regions is too unreliable for commercial cultivation[2]. Whilst trees generally grow best in moderately dry climates, some cultivars can thrive and produce even under rainforest conditions[4]. Prefers a sunny position[5]. Plants are not too fussy over soil, not needing very fertile conditions[2]. However, they crop better in a rich, well-drained soil[5], whilst very poor soil, or shallow land, is unsuitable[2]. A pH in the range 6 - 7 is ideal[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.3 - 8.5[3]. Grows best in areas sheltered from strong, drying winds[3]. Established plants are drought tolerant, and can also withstand occasional inundation of the soil[3]. Trees produce a taproot up to 5 metres deep[2]. Plants take 5 - 8 years from seed before they begin to fruit[6]. Grafted plants commence bearing in 3 - 5 years[7]. Individual trees often flower irregularly and may only produce one good crop every 3 - 4 year; some trees do not flower for periods of 10 - 20 years, sometimes even longer[1, 3]. Yields increase up to the 20th year, decline after the 40th year and the tree may live for 100 years or more[3]. Flowering starts at the beginning of the rainy season and fruits ripen at the end of the rainy season[1]. Most varieties are self-fertile, but produce larger crops when cross-pollinated[7]. Yields of about 500 fruits per tree are average in 'on' years[2]. A plantation of full-grown trees may produce 10 - 30 tonnes per hectare of fruit each year. Average yields are, however, often quite low with 6 tonnes being achieved in the Philippines, 3.5 tonnes in Peninsular Malaysia and 2.3 tonnes in Thailand[3]. A very variable plant, there are many named varieties[2, 6]. Some forms of the mango produce polyembryonic seeds (more than one seedling is produced from each seed) - these forms produce a tree genetically identical to the parent[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe[2]. Wash the seed, dry in shade and sow about 5cm deep with the convex side up[2]. Germination takes about 18 days if the seed is peeled first, or 30 days if it is not[2]. Give the seedlings some shade as they grow[1]. Plants that are raised in nursery beds can be transplanted without much difficulty before the taproot has developed to any great extent[1]. However, seedlings raised in baskets or containers are preferable[1]. Grafting onto a polyembryonic stock[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Mangifera+indica>

Pollinators

Bees, Bats, Flies, Ants

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]Edible Leaves of the Tropics — Martin. F. W.; Ruberte. R. M. & Meitzner. L. S. · Echo. USA. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9653360-1-8 ↩︎A terse guide, giving reasonable detail on the more common leaf crops and brief information on a wide range of lesser known plants.
  5. [5]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  6. [6]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
  7. [7]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  8. [8]Plants of Southeast Asia — http://www.asianplant.net/ ↩︎Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
  9. [9]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  10. [10]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  11. [11]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  12. [12]Timber Notes - Light Hardwoods II — Gan K.S.; Lim S.C.; Choo K.T. · Forest Research Institute; Malaysia · 1998 · ISBN 139-258 ↩︎Part of an excellent series of publications, this one giving a brief guide to five lesser known groups of light hardwoods from southeast Asia. It is available in PDF format on the Internet.
  13. [13]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.