Genetic resources of Mangifera species in Thailand.
Eiadthong W., Yonemori K., Sugiura A., Utsunomiya N., Suranant Subhadrabandhu
Author Affiliation: Laboratory of Pomology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Japanese Journal of Tropical Agriculture 43 : 76-83
Abstract : Mangifera species in Thailand were surveyed during the period 1995-97, and a total of 13 species were identified. Among these species, M. foetida, M. odorata and M. sylvatica have been cultivated as fruit crops for the local market, as well as M. indica. The other 9 wild species also seemed to have potential values as rootstocks and breeding materials for disease and/or pest resistance, or tolerance to critical environmental conditions. Based on 55 morphological and ecological characters, 13 Mangifera species were classified into two major groups; the first group consists of M. indica, M. sylvatica, M. oblongifolia, M. collina, and M. cochinchinensis, and the second group of M. caloneura, M. pentandra, M. flava, M. macrocarpa, M. gedebe, M. griffithii, M. odorata, and M. foetida. All the species in the first group were distributed in a monsoon climate, not in a moist tropical rain forest climate. Since tropical forests are being rapidly destroyed by the expansion of urban areas, a special effort should be made to conserve Mangifera species in Thailand as valuable germplasm for future needs.