Evaluating important fruit characters in mango germplasm.
Knight R. J. Jr.
Author Affiliation: USDA-ARS, Miami, FL 33158-1399, USA.
Fruit Varieties Journal 47 : 25-31
Abstract : Standardized criteria for the evaluation of mango (Mangifera indica) germplasm is examined. Conventional scoring systems generally rate characters such as fruit size, colour, firmness, fibre content, disease resistance and flavour on a scale of 1 to 10, with somewhat different treatment of fruit shape (scale of 1 (nearly spherical) to 5 (elongate)) and yield. A score of 1 indicates the least desirability, a score of 10 the most desirable rating, while a score of 5 or lower for any character except fruit shape is enough to bar any clone from consideration for introduction, although it may still be selected for use in breeding if it has other desirable attributes. Numerical rating is generally applied to such characters as shape, size, firmness, colour, disease resistance, taste, fibre content and yield. A 'remarks' column is added for field observations of conditions in one or a few plants that are not common enough in southeastern Florida to be regularly rated (e.g., cracking tendency, jelly seed). Of 17 mango accessions from the USDA collection held at Miami, Florida, 11 were deemed of insufficient commercial acceptability on the basis of the scoring system described.