Talk About Variety

Did I mention that Indonesia has over 200 documented varieties of mangos?  In the markets of Indonesia you might be able to find five or six varieties that have commercial value.  So, 200 hundred varieties seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

So, how does 14,000 varieties strike you?  That was the number of apple varieties in North America in the 19^th century.  Tim Hensley writes,

“In the 19th century, apples came in all shapes and guises, some with rough, sandpapery skin, others as misshapen as potatoes, and ranging from the size of a cherry to bigger than a grapefruit. Colors ran the entire spectrum with a wonderful impressionistic array of patterning—flushes, stripes, splashes, and dots. There was an apple for every community, taste, purpose, and season, with winter varieties especially prized. Apples were used for making cider, baking, drying, eating out of hand—even as livestock feed.” (from “A Curious Tale: the Apple in North America”, Tim Hensley, Brooklyn Botanical Garden,  http://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/the_apple_in_north_america)

Currently in North America about ninety varieties are grown commercially and a host of other heirloom varieties live quietly in the private gardens and orchards of hobbyists.  While they may cultivate apple trees as a hobby, such people are not novices.  Folks like Tim Hensley have an exceptional grasp of genetics, horticulture and grafting techniques.  They are the volunteer guardians of the apple species.

In the village of Tiron, where we are beginning another season of mango drying, recent research revealed that 36 mango varieties exist but only three or four varieties are grown commercially.  The other varieties have lived in quiet neglect in the same mango groves that are being threatened by mining concerns.

In an effort to encourage cultivation of mango trees and preserve existing varieties the national government has recruited the help of Mr. Jem, who has worked with me for six years.  During the past year, Mr. Jem has grown 5000 seedlings to be used for the grafting of underrepresented mango varieties.  Local farmers are expected to take home a seedling, choose a variety to graft, plant the tree on their own land and care for the grafted variety.  Not all of these farmers will have the same motivation as heirloom hobbyists.  “If there is no real commercial value to the farmer, why would they want to care for the tree?”, remarks Mr. Jem, stating an obvious fact about people who live on $2 a day.

An optimist would expect Mr. Jem to become a legend like Johnny Appleseed, propagating mango varieties in a way that preserves biodiversity.  A pragmatist would expect an economic version of natural selection to take place, resulting in a relatively small set of commercially viable mango varieties. 

The researcher in me wants to know how well each of these varieties dry.  Finding some with attractive taste and texture characteristics after drying would allow us to develop markets for previously unknown varieties.  I could be busy for many years to come!

  

Alongside "Johnny Mangoseed"?