SELECTION OF TWO MANGO CLONES IN VERACRUZ

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) 'Manila' is the most important cultivar grown in México. lt is propagated commercially by grafting but there is no control over the mother trees used. An orchard with 36 seedling trees was established at Cotaxtla Experimental Station
in 1957 with the objective of selecting those trees with higher fruit production. During the first harvest, 10 trees were discarded because their fruit was not of 'Manila' phenotype. From 1967 to 1971, 19 more trees were discarded due to their low yield, so that
only seven trees were studied for 15 more years. Along the 20 years of yield data, tree number 13 was the most outstanding producer with a mean of 544 kg/tree/year. Analyzing separately the 10 higher and 10 lower production years, only in the first case
statistical differences were observed: trees number 12 and 13 were the outstanding ones with yields of 955 and 903 kg/tree/year, respectively. lt was concluded in this study that 'Manila' is a highly altemant cultivar and is a low bearer during their first production years (6 to 15 years of age) but increases its yield highly later on. Tree selection on the basis of yield could be effective only with yield data of 12-14 years. Planting densities in the early years should be increased to make this crop more feasible economically. 'Manila Cotaxtla-1' and 'Manila Cotaxtla-2' are now the commercial names of the new mango varieties derived from the two outstanding
trees. They are recommended for new plantings in Veracruz state.