Mangoes in India

STUDENT NAME:                                Dylon Bachan

STUDENT ID#:                                60227        

COURSE CODE AND TITLE:         AGSC4009- Major food and horticultural crops of the Caribbean.

TOPIC:                                        Origin and cultivation of mango essay

LECTURER:                                 Dr. William Mollineau

Submitted:                                         

Mango is a tropical evergreen fruit tree originated in India, it has several varieties and can be cultivated by several methods.

“Native to southern Asia, especially eastern India, Burma, and the Andaman Islands, the mango has been cultivated, praised and even revered in its homeland since Ancient times. Buddhist monks are believed to have taken the mango on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th Centuries B.C. The Persians are said to have carried it to East Africa about the 10th Century A.D. It was commonly grown in the East Indies before the earliest visits of the Portuguese who apparently introduced it to West Africa early in the 16th Century and into Brazil. After becoming established in Brazil, the mango was carried to the West Indies, being first planted in Barbados about 1742 and later in the Dominican Republic. It reached Jamaica about 1782 and, early in the 19th Century, reached Mexico from the Philippines and the West Indies.” (J. F. Morton, 1987)

Mangos are quite popular. “They are the succulent, aromatic fruits of an evergreen tree Mangifera indica, a member of the cashew family (Anacardiaceae) of flowering plants. Botanically, mango is a drupe, consisting of an outer skin, a fleshy edible portion, and a central stone enclosing a single seed – also called stone fruit, like a plum, cherry, or peach” (National Mango Board, 2019)

“Mangos in Trinidad and Tobago come in over 70 varieties. In food, mangos are used in various forms, Mango Chow is a popular appetizer Trinidadians enjoy on a hot summer night. The recipe includes simply seasoning a half-ripe mango with pepper, salt and chadon beni (a Caribbean herb similar to cilantro). On the streets, vendors sell the Trini sandwich, doubles, often topped with a mango relish, kuchela, either at breakfast time or late at night. Kuchela is a common chutney Trinis use to complement their savory dishes. Kuchela is made with shredded green mangos, chilies, garlic, masala and mustard oil” (National Mango Board, 2019)