Mulgoba

Display of Mulgoba mango at the Redland Summer Fruit Festival, Fruit and Spice Park, Homestead, Florida.

The Mulgoba mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in India and was brought to the United States.

History

There is considerable speculation as to the origin of the Mulgoba variety. What is known is that Mulgoba was sent from India to the US in 1889 as part of a program to introduce tropical fruit to America. Twelve grafted mango trees were shipped by G. Marshall Woodrow, who was then Professor of Horticulture at the Agricultural College in Poona, India^[1]. The trees were brought from Bombay to Washington D.C., where they arrived in poor condition. The varieties included Alphonse, Banchore, Banchore of Dhiren, Devarubria, Mulgoba, and Pirie. Upon receipt of the trees, they were then shipped to south Florida to be cared for by horticulturalists. 5 of the trees were sent to Professor Elbridge Gale^[2][3] along Lake Worth Lagoon near what is now West Palm Beach, Florida. Gale was a retired horticulture professor from Kansas State Agricultural College. One of these trees were labeled "Mulgoba" by Woodrow, which most likely was a mislabeling of 'Mulgoa', a well known mango cultivar in India.

10 of the 12 trees were killed by 1895, most presumably in a major freeze that affected Florida in the winter of 1894-1895. In 1898 Gale reported that only an Alphonse tree under the care of the Brelsford Brothers and the Mulgoba under his care were the two surviving trees. The Alphonse was said to be doing poorly, but the same year the Mulgoba produced its first fruit. However, the fruit resembled nothing like the "Mulgoa" variety in India, nor any other established Indian varieties for that matter. Thus, several possibilities exist that could help explain the origin of the Mulgoba. One is that the variety shipped to the United States was not 'Mulgoa' but rather another unknown variety. This explanation is challenging however as the 'Mulgoba' does not fit the description of any of the known mango varieties grown around Bombay, from where the scions for the original grafts were obtained. Yet another possibility is that the scion for the grafted tree that fruited in 1898 was killed in the 1894-1895 freeze, and that the rootstock was what grew and produced the fruit. This would help explain why the tree did not produce fruit until 1898, as most grafted trees will produce within 5 years. This would mean that Mulgoba originated as a chance seedling of a superior variety, though such varieties were rarely used as rootstocks for grafted trees in India, complicating this explanation.

After the original tree began producing fruit, the 'Mulgoba' was quickly recognized for its outstanding eating quality and eye-catching color. Because of this, 'Mulgoba' was propagated and other trees were planted in Florida.

Mulgoba was a parent of the Haden mango, which was planted from a Mulgoba seed and was the result of a cross between the Mulgoba and Turpentine 10 mango. Haden would go on to become the parent of many of the Florida mangoes, and thus most Florida mangoes are descended from Mulgoba. Mulgoba was also reportedly a parent of the Lancetilla mango, as well as the Keitt mango, though a 2005 pedigree analysis indicated that Keitt wasn't descended from Mulgoba.

Mulgoba itself, while highly regarded for its flavor, proved to be a very poor and inconsistent producer in Florida, thus limiting its plantings after the development of Haden and other culivars with superior production characteristics. Mulgoba never became an established commercial cultivar and has not been sold as nursery stock for decades. However, Mulgoba trees are still part of the collections of the USDA's germplasm repository in Miami, Florida^[4], the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida^[5], and the Miami-Dade Fruit and Spice Park^[6], also in Homestead.

Description

display of unripe Mulgoba mango at the 15th Annual International Mango Festival at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida.

The fruit is oval to ovate in shape, with a rounded or bluntly pointed apex and containing a small lateral beak. At maturity the skin color is yellow with some crimson blush. The flesh is yellow, soft, and has a flavor that is rich and sweet. It contains a monoembryonic seed. The fruit typically ripen from July to August in Florida.

The trees are vigorous growers and will grow to large sizes with spreading, open canopies.

References

1. ^ http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protected/1960%20Vol.%2073/309-311%20%28WOLFE%291.pdf
2. ^ http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=13848
3. ^ http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/fruit/Tropical-And-Subtropical-Fruits/Mango-History-And-Distribution-Continued.html
4. ^ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1138455 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
5. ^ http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/crane/pdfs/TREC-Fruit-Collections.pdf
6. ^ http://fruitandspicepark.org/friends/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=29