• Almost all our grafted varieties of mango have been selected from the naturally occurring superior chance seedlings, having in view their earliness or lateness and superior fruit quality.
• Some of these are still confined to the orchards of a few mango lovers and need to be utilized both commercially as well as in breeding work.
• All these varieties have a wide range of adaptability under north Indian conditions.
• For instance, there is no difference in the performance of the variety 'Langra' when grown at Varanasi or Saharanpur or for that matter even at Bulsar (Gujarat), although the 3 situations differ significantly in climatic and soil factors.
• However, performance of the north Indian varieties undergoes a marked change when grown under south Indian conditions.
• For instance, if 'Langra' and 'Dashehari' varieties of northern India are grown under south Indian conditions, the trees would flower and fruit very sparsely.
• However, south Indian varieties do flower and fruit under north Indian conditions but some of their characteristics might undergo a change.
• For example, 'Neelum' (a south Indian variety) trees tend to be sufficiently dwarf under north Indian conditions.
• Although the trees tend to bear every year, fruit size is markedly reduced, accompanied by delayed ripening.
• Likewise, 'Rumani' variety of southern India undergoes a change in the sex ratio of flowers, resulting in sparse fruiting under north Indian conditions.
• ' Alphonso' of Ratnagiri cannot be duplicated away from the coastal region in regard to its fruit quality.
• Thus commercial varieties of mango, although having a wide range of adaptability, are specific to different regions of the country.

• There is considerable confusion in the nomenclature of varieties due to many synonyms of a single cultivar. However, in various monographs on mango published from time to time, correct name of a variety along with its synonym has been furnished.
• Previously, even one variety found different names in different catalogues.
• Since most of the varieties in mango have been selected from the naturally occurring chance seedlings by the interested growers and nurserymen, names signify quality, lateness or earliness, size and shape of fruit, names of the place, person or king or nawab, colour, etc. For most part names have been taken from the local dialect.
• Synonyms used to be many, thus adding to the utter confusion of the grower.
• Some of the synonyms mentioned in their monograph for 'Langra', 'Dashehari' and 'Bombay Green' are:
• 'Langra': 'Langra Banarasi', 'Langra Hajipur', 'Langarhi', 'Tikari' (Farrulkhabad, UP), 'David Ford', 'Hardil-Aziz' (Bhopal), 'Langra Hardoi', 'Langra Patna', 'Sylhet' (Meerut, UP), 'Langra Faquirwala', 'Ruh-e-afza', 'Darbhanga' and 'Chhatpa'. .
• 'Dashehari': 'Aman', 'Aman Dashehari', 'Nirali Aman' and 'Kamyab'.
• Bombay Green': 'Kali Bombai', 'Hira1al Bombai', 'Sarauli', 'Malda', 'Bombay Syah', 'Bombay Kalan', 'Bashi Bombai', 'Sheeri Dhan', 'Bhojpuri', 'Bombai Bhojpuri' and 'Laile Alupur'.
• Thus the synonyms multiple, generally as the grafts changed hands from different persons and places. New names were coined, based often on persons and places from whom or where the grafts were obtained.
• The first systematic record of the good and bad varieties available is from the account of this fruit tree in Ain-i-Akbari. AD 1590.

• None of the existing commercial varieties of mango could be called an ideal type, as these lack some desirable character or the other.
• To establish mango-growing as a distinct industry, we need a mango variety that could meet the challenge of the present-day requirements.

In this connection the following suggestions are made:

1. Trees ought to be dwarf so that these could be planted at a close distance of 3-4 m. Only then the desirable sanitary conditions for obtaining optimum crop per unit area can be maintained.
2. Fruits of a medium size, 5 in a kg with golden apricot colour on ripening could be preferred. Red blush on the cheeks would be a welcome character from the export point. Such fruits must have high pulp: stone ratio, firm and fibreless flesh, uniform consistency of the texture with excellent sugar-acid blend and pleasing aroma.
3. The variety ought to yield crop every year.
4. It should be highly tolerant to various fungal and bacterial diseases and also to mango malformation.
5. Stable pleasant flavour should be characteristic of a variety particularly when it undergoes processing.
6. While this is true of 'Alphonso', most of the commercial varieties of northern India lack this character.
7. Fruits must have high keeping quality.
8. Although at present none of the commercial varieties of mango has all these characteristics combined into one, it would be futile to take up all these objectives at a time in any mango breeding work.
9. Therefore these characters are to be incorporated at stages and the variety is to be built up gradually.

• There are hundreds of varieties in mango, out of which only a few happen to be of commercial importance.
• Different regions of the country have their own commercial varieties because, as has already been indicated in the beginning, a particular variety of mango is not expected to perform equally well under different sets of climatic factors prevailing in various parts of the country.
• The most well-known varieties throughout the country are 'Langra', 'Alphonso', 'Dashehari' and 'Banganpalli'.
• Thus the choice of a commercial grower in north India is mostly confined to 'Bombay Green' (early), 'Langra', 'Dashehari' and 'Samar Behest Chausa'; in the eastern part to 'Fazli', 'Kishenbhog', 'Himsagar: 'Langra', 'Gulabkhas' and 'Zardalu'; in the western part to 'Alphonso', 'Pairi', 'Malkurad' (Goa), 'Kesar', 'Rajapuri' and 'Jamadar' (Gujarat); and in the southern part to 'Beneshan' ('Banganpalli'), 'Neelum', 'Bangalora', 'Rumani', 'Suvarnarekha', 'Mulgoa', 'Raspuri' and 'Badami'.
• Although the most delicious mangoes of the south are 'Allampur Beneshan', 'Himayuddin' and 'Jehangir', these are not commercial types due to their shy bearing.
• Among these 'Neelum' and 'Bangalora' happen to be the most consistent bearers (regular) and 'Dashehari' by far the most delicious variety.

The mango varieties under cultivation in different states are given in.

States	Varieties Grown
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana	Allumpur Baneshan, Banganapalli, Bangalora, Cherukurasam.
Bihar	Bathua, Bombai, Himsagar, Kishen Bhog, Sukul.
Goa	Fernandin, Mankurad.
Gujarat	Alphonso, Kesar, Rajapuri, Vanraj.
Haryana	Dashehari, Langra, Sarauli (Bombay Green).
Karnataka	Alphonso, Bangalora, Mulgoa, Neelum, Pairi.
Kerala	Mundappa, Olour, Pairi.
Madhya Pradesh	Mostly seedling types and Alphonso, Bombai, Langra.
Maharashtra	Alphonso, Mankurad, Mulgoa, Pairi.
Orissa	Mostly seedling types and Baneshan, Langra, Neelum, Suvarnarekha.
Punjab	Dashehari, Langra, Sambar behest Chausa.
Tamil Nadu	Banganapalli, Bangalora, Neelum, Rumani, Mulgoa.
West Bengal	Bombai, Himsagar, Kishen Bhog, Langra.
Uttar Pradesh	Bombay Green, Dashehari, Fajri, Langra, Safeda, Lucknow, Samarbehisht Chausa.

• Detailed descriptions of these varieties have been published in the various mango monographs.
• However, it would be worthwhile to know the merits and demerits of some of the commercial varieties mentioned above.

Variety	Merits	Demerits
'Langra'	Most popular variety grown in India Wide adaptability Scion characters very much dominant Fruit quality excellent	Poor fruiting in young age due to excessive fruit drop Biennial in habit Keeping quality of the fruits poor Trees vigorous and spreading
'Dashehari'	Very rich in vitamin C Excellent fruit quality Commercial bearing from 4th year of planting Good keeping and canning quality Amenable to crop regulation	Flavour not stable Biennial in habit External appearance not very attractive Highly susceptible to mango malformation
'S.B. Chausa'	Most delicious fruits available late in the season Good size and attractive colour Juicy	Poor fruiting and unpredictable bearing, particularly in young age Trees quite vigorous, show apical dominance Biennial in habit Very high incidence of floral malformation
'Bombay Green'	Earliest among the commercial types Taste and flavour excellent Serves as a good blend for mango nectar	Highly susceptible to both vegetative and floral malformation Biennial in habit Keeping quality of fruits poor
'Alphonso'	Most popular in markets abroad Fruits with excellent flavour, shape, size, and colour Very good keeping quality Very good variety for canning Flavour stable.	Limited adaptability Flesh develops spongy tissue Biennial in habit.
'Neelum'	Appreciably regular type Good fruits Dwarf under north Indian conditions Precocious in bearing	Inferior fruit quality
'Bangalora'	Appreciably regular type Very good yield Early arrival in the market from south	Fruit appearance not impressive Inferior in quality Susceptible to bacterial spot
'Fazil'	Late arrival in the market Bulk food	Abnormally big size Inferior in quality Biennial in habit
'Banganpalli'	Early mango (from the south) Good keeping and canning quality Better yield	Biennial in habit Fruits some-what flat in shape

• Apart from table varieties, there are quite a few sucking types characterized by juicy and soft flesh with fibres.
• These are not yet cultivated on commercial scale but grafted trees are grown in the orchards of big mango growers.
• Some such varieties are 'Raspoonia', 'Mithwa Sundar Shah', 'Mithwa Ghazipur', 'Taimuriya', 'Sharbati Begrain', 'Gilas', Nauras', 'Rasgola', 'Hardil-aziz', 'Cherukurasam' and 'Peddarasam'.
• Fruits of all these varieties except the south Indian ones range in size from small to medium.
• Further, these varieties are mostly biennial in habit.
• This germplasm of juicy mangoes, as well as of many other less.
• Known seedling sucking mangoes, may get extinct unless propagated and multiplied by nurseries and popularized for commercial cultivation to cater to the mango industry .

• The phenomenon of polyembryony, characterized by the formation of more than one embryo in the seed, is known to occur in a number of mango varieties growing under different conditions of climate and soil.
• The seedlings arising from the adventive embryos of nucellar origin are highly uniform.
• These can therefore be used as such for the vegetative multiplication of a polyembryonic variety.
• If found suitable, they can also be utilized as standard rootstocks for some of the monoembryonic varieties.
• In India almost all the commercial varieties are monoembryonic, A few that are polyembryonic are comparatively of little economic value and these are mostly confined to the west coast (Kerala) of southern India.
• Some of these are 'Bappakai, 'Bellary, Chandrakaran, 'Goa', 'Goa Kasargod', 'Kurukkan', 'Mylepaliumt, 'Olour', 'Nileswar Dwarf' and 'Salem'. Some of the important polyembryonic varieties grown in the Philippines are 'Cambodiana', 'Carabao', 'Corazont, 'Paho', 'Pahutan', 'Pico', 'Senora' and 'Strawberry'.
• The exact criterion for distinguishing a nucellar seedling from a gametic seedling in polyembryonic varieties of mango is not yet well established.
• In polyembryonic seed-stone the zygote usually gets degenerated and the seedlings emerge from nucellar embryos alone.
• Thus there are chances of the sexual embryo being crowded out by asexual ones in the early stages of embryo development.
• In that case the seedlings emerging will be all nucellar.
• In 'Pico' both the types of embryo develop approximately at the same time and at the same speed.
• But in 'Olour', 'Carabao' and 'Cambodiana' the egg degenerates and all the embryos in a mature seed are adventive.
• Uniformity in the colour of emerging leaves of the seedlings may, however, be a fair indication of their nucellar origin.
• It has been observed that some of the monoembryonic varieties may revert to polyembryony when grown under different sets of soil and climatic conditions.
• Some of the Indian varieties which were mostly monoembryonic produced more than one seedling in the Philippines.
• Similar position was observed with some Indian varieties when grown under Puerto Rico conditions.
• This may be due to natural crossing of the monoembryonic with the polyembryonic varieties commonly grown in these regions.
• The hybrids of polyembryonic and monoembryonic types are polyembryonic under Florida (USA) conditions.
• However, further breeding studies are needed to ascertain the nature of inheritance of polyembryony in mango.
• Sometimes, seedlings with multiple shoots formed from lateral branches arising in the axil of the cotyledonary leaves are mistaken for polyembryonic types.
• However, these can easily be distinguished as monoembryonic or polyembryonic on the basis of the number of tap roots.
• Single tap root will be a fair indication that it is monoembryonic, whereas more than one tap root with equal number of shoots will mean that the variety is polyembryonic.

• Most of the varieties developed in Florida (USA) are characterized by brilliant red blush on the cheeks.
• It adds to the desirable characteristics of a variety and enhances consumer appeal.
• However, almost none of the commercial varieties of mango in India has this component of red blush.
• Suitable varieties of this type can be developed by breeding.
• The varietal wealth of mango in India is huge and a number of varieties are known to have brilliant red blush on their cheeks.
• Some well-known varieties having red colour are 'Gulabkhas Red' ('Sinduriya'), 'Surekha Calcutta', 'Zafran', 'Husnara' (this has the loveliest red colour), 'Janardhan Pasand', 'Suvarnarekha', 'Lal Mulgoa' and 'Vanraj'.
• 'Sensation' from Florida (USA) is the most brilliantly coloured variety of mango reported so far.
• Some of these have quite good fruit quality, and it will not be difficult to combine still better fruit quality with desirable colour by breeding.

• 'Chitla Afaq' and 'Croton' are unusual varieties of mango.
• The variegated fruits of the former are of an ornamental nature and serve as a sort of curiosity. Fruits are small and oblongish with undulated surface.
• It is quite juicy, fibrous and sub-sweet in taste.
• There is also another strain of this variety, which bears variegated fruits of smaller size.
• Nothing is known about the origin of this peculiar variety.
• The leaves of 'Croton' resemble those of the croton foliage shrub, and the tree is of ornamental nature.
• The veins in the leaves are depressed and the surface in between them is raised, presenting a peculiar leathery appearance.
• The fruits are small and oval. It has abundant juice and fibres and is sub-sweet in taste.
• Another erratic variety of mango is 'Baramasi' or 'Dofasla', which may flower and fruit twice or thrice a year.
• It has many strains.
• Fruits are, however, of inferior quality. 'Kacha Mitha', unlike other varieties, can be eaten in unripe form while the fruits are still green, as they lack acidity.

• The present commercial varieties of mango in India, by and large, bear in alternate years.
• The only exceptions are 'Neelum' and 'Bangalora', which though inferior in fruit quality are commercially cultivated in south India, as these are regular bearers.
• The mango hybridization programme initiated at the IARI has the main objective of producing a regular-bearing variety, having fruit quality acceptable to the consumer.
• Of the various hybrids assessed so far, only a few have been found promising.
• Even amongst the hybrids of the same parentage, enormous variation in fruit size, shape, fruit quality and bearing behavior has been observed.
• This is quite natural in a highly heterozygous plant like mango, and this highlights the necessity of raising a very large population of hybrid seedlings of each parental combination to select the desirable ones.
• Among the promising hybrids, only 'No.65', a cross between 'Neelum' and 'Dashehari' has been released in 1971.
• This has been named 'Mallika'.
• Its tree is semi-vigorous.
• It is medium to heavy cropper and has a strong tendency to bear regularly.
• The fruits have an attractive appearance and the average fruit weight is 307 g compared with 1584 g of 'Dashehari' and 120 g of 'Neelum'.
• The pulp percentage is 74.0 compared with 68 and 59 in 'Dashehari' and 'Neelum' respectively.
• The pulp is fibreless and firm, and the stone is very thin.
• The percentage of total soluble solids is higher (25) than that of 'Dashehari' (21).
• It has a better keeping quality and also matures later than 'Dashehari'.
• Another variety, Amrapali' has been evolved at. IARI as a result of a cross between 'Neelum' and 'Dashehari'.
• This was released in 1978.
• It is precocious, distinctly dwarf, highly regular and prolific in bearing.
• It is suitable for high-density orcharding.
• The fruit quality of' Amrapali' compares favourably with its better parent ('Dashehari') in many respects.
• The relatively small fruit size, in comparison to 'Dashehari', is compensated by other good points which are lacking in the latter, viz. regularity and prolific bearing, high pulp percentage and total soluble solids.
• The flesh is deep orange-red and has about 2.5-3.0 times more b -carotene content, which indicates higher vitamin A than its parents.
• Besides, because of the attractive flesh colour, this variety appears better suited for preparing a good- quality, highly colourful mango nectar, for which there is considerable demand in the foreign markets.
• Another hybrid 'Ratna' has been evolved at the Regional Fruit Research Station, Vengurla (Maharashtra), by making reciprocal crosses of 'Alphonso' and 'Neelum'. It was released in 1981.
• The fruits are large (315 g) and the flesh is firm and fibreless.
• They keep in good condition for about a week.
• It is a regular-bearing variety. Fruits are characterized by excellent taste and flavour, attractive shape, colour and size, good keeping quality, early maturity and absence of spongy tissue.
• Average pulp percentage is 78.62, total soluble solids (^oBrix) 23.00, acidity 0.26% and vitamin C 25 mg per 100 g. The tree is moderately vigorous.

The parentage and characteristics of different mango varieties are given below:

Sl.No	Hybrid	Research Station	Parentage	Characteristics
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
1.	Mallika	IARI, New Delhi	Neelum x Dashehari.	Regular bearing, high TSS, good colour, uniform fruits, moderate keeping quality.
2.	Amarapali	IARI, New Delhi	Dashehari x Neelum.	Dwarf, regular bearing, cluster bearing, small sized fruits, good keeping quality.
3.	Au-Rumani	F.R.S., Kodur	Rumani x Mulgoa.	Large fruits, good flavour, heavy Mulgoa yielder, flesh moderately firm.
4.	Manjeera	F.R.S., Sangareddy	Rumani x Neelum.	Regular & prolific bearer, flesh firm and fibreless.
5.	PKM-1	H.R.S., Periyakulam	Chinnaswarnarekha x Neelum.	Regular bearing and good quality. Fruits in clusters.
6.	PKM-2	H.R.S., Periyakulam	Neelum x Mulgoa.	Regular bearing & good quality.
7.	Ratna	F.R.S., Vengurla	Neelum x Alphonso.	Regular bearing, free from spongy tissue and fibre.
8.	Sindhu	F.R.S., Vengurla	Ratna x Alphonso.	Regular bearing, stone is thin.
9.	Alfazli	F.R.S., Vengurla	Alphonso x Fazli.	Superior to Fazil. No spongy tissue.
10.	Sundar Langra	F.R.S., Vengurla	Sardar Pasand x Langra	Regular bearing, Resembles Langra
11.	Arka Aruna	IIHR Bangalore.	Banganapalli x Alphonso	Regular bearing, flesh free from fibre & spongy tissue, pale yellow, moderately firm, good for mango bars. Fruits size is big. Plants dwarf.
12.	Arka Puneet	IIHR Bangalore.	Alphonso x Banganapalli	Regular bearing, attractive skin colour, medium sized, free from spongy tissue, good keeping quality, good sugar acid blend.
13.	Arka Anmol	IIHR Bangalore.	Alphonso x Janardhan Pasand.	Regular bearing, attractive skin colour, free from spongy tissue, good keeping quality, good sugar acid blend.
14.	Arka Neelkiran	IIHR Bangalore.	Alphonso x Neelum.	Regular bearing, with medium sized fruits, free from spongy tissue, good pulp colour, excellent skin, vigorous tree.

• In Florida (USA) the trees of Tommy Atkins' come into bearing 3- 4 years after planting and bear regular, heavy crop up to about 300 kg/tree.
• The fruit is medium to large with orange-yellow ground colour and a bright red blush.
• The flesh is medium to dark yellow with a good flavour.
• Fruit is resistant to anthracnose but internal breakdown may be serious in some years.
• The only mutant variety reported in mango is 'Rosica' from Peru.
• It is a bud mutant of the local Peruvian cultivar 'Rosado de Ica'.
• In trials it was found precocious and showed regular bearing, giving good yield of high-quality fruit.
• Unlike other local cultivars, it did not produce small seedless fruits and it was monoembryonic.