DIZON EXOTIC FRUIT TREES

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.

Photo shows an INFERIOR BATANGAS STRAIN Carabao Mango bought from unreliable nursery with one peso as reference size

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. Soña 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.

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.)

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.

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.