Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



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best onh' where severe dry seasons prevailed." It is argued that rains at the time 

 of flowering interfere with pollination^ and that without some artificial means of 

 checking the growth, such as supplied by an extended dry season, the tree is not 

 encouraged to produce fruit." In regard to climatic requirements Macmillan 

 [Handbook of Tropical Gardening and Planting, p. 154-] states, "A hot and rather 

 dry climate and a rich, well drained soil suit it best." 



Whether or not a high degree of humidity is at any time of the year necessary 

 is perhaps open to question, but it would appear from the statement of Woodrow 

 [The Mango: Its Culture and Varieties, p. 7] that it is not. He says: "The 

 mango requires an abundance of moisture either in the atmosphere or at the root." 

 Higgins [The Mango in Hawaii (Hawaii Ag. Exp. Station, Bui. 12) p. 8] says: 

 "The mango is better suited to an irrigated region than to one of natural rainfall, 

 because of the bad effects of rain at flowering time, and indeed throughout the life 

 of the tree where the mango blight is known; and further, because it is a distinct 

 advantage to be able to apply water when it is most needed and withhold it when 

 it would do harm." And the behavior of the tree in Southern California and in 

 parts of Mexico with extremely dry summers would argue that the necessary 

 moisture can as well be supplied by irrigation as through the atmosphere. 



The amount of frost that the tree will stand could scarcely help depending 

 in a large measure on the variety^ those which have become acclimatized in cool 

 localities being naturally less susceptible to frost than those from strictly tropical 

 countries. On this point Woodrow [The Mango: Its Culture and Varieties, p. 7] 

 gives the experience in India as follows: "A few degrees of frost for a short time 

 destroys the leaves and young branches, and an occasional blizzard giving lO^F. 

 below freezing point for a short time may destroy branches as thick as the 

 forearm, but on these being pruned off the trees are little worse for the low tem- 

 perature." It seems, therefore, that the tree will withstand quite low temperatures 

 provided they are of not too long duration. But a high temperature is necessary 

 during the fruiting season. On this point A. C. Hartless, superintendent of the 

 Government Botanical Gardens, Saharanpur, India, states: "As regards the 

 conditions under which the mango ripens its fruit, undoubtedly a high temperature 

 is necessary, and moreover a dry one is preferred. The fruits ripen here from 

 May to July and thus have the hottest and dryest time of the year in which to 

 ripen. Generally there is during May a hot, dry wind that no doubt acts on the 

 acids of the fruit." 



It is not necessary that the fruit be rijDcned on the tree, and the practice of 

 ripening it artificially is extensively used in India. Mr. Hartless says regarding 

 this: "It is a common practice here to ripen the fruit artificially. This is done 

 to save the expense of watching and protecting from predatory animals and birds. 

 When the fruits attain the desired size they are taken off and packed in straw in 

 closed boxes where they will ripen. In this way the taste may differ slightly 

 from those ripened on the tree, but it is not uncommon for fruits on the same tree 

 to differ materially in taste." Mr. H. C. Prinsen Geerligs of Java, writing in 

 the International Sugar Journal, [From The Agricultural News, Barbados, Vol. 

 VIII, No. 176, p. 21] says: "Mangos are usually picked when unripe. At that 



