Research is a very important task for the National Mango Board. It is coordinated by Dr. Leonardo Ortega, who joined the NMB in 2007 as a research specialist and in 2008 was promoted to the position of Research Director.
Dr. Leonardo Ortega
Identification of mango varieties with the greatest potential
One of the areas in which the NMB is working with greater emphasis is in the identification of the mango varieties with the greatest potential for the sector. Dr. Ortega says that “we are involved in a project to identify mango varieties that have potential for the fresh and frozen mango industry in the US. It is being conducted by the University of Florida and is in stage 2. The aim of stage 1 was to select the varieties with the greatest potential and most suitable characteristics. In the second stage, we are measuring the physical and chemical characteristics of the mango cultivars selected in the first stage."
“We are also determining the sensitivity of these cultivars to cold-induced damage and to damage from hot water quarantine treatment. Also, consumer-level tasting tests are being carried out in order to find out the extent to which the cultivars are accepted. Once stage 2 comes to a close and the most promising cultivars have been identified, a third stage will follow that will consist in the field evaluation of these cultivars.”
The NMB's research department has also been working on the development of a new environmentally-friendly container for mangoes. You can read more about the results of this project by clicking here.
Mango pattern study
Regarding mango patterns, the National Mango Board has also carried out interesting research. As explained by the Research Director of the NMB, “this study was conducted by Dr. Víctor Galán. The objective of the project was to do a literature review on mango patterns to compile all the existing information in a single document that could be made available to producers.” The document (in Spanish) is available here.
Research and development are undoubtedly important for the National Mango Board, as they hugely contribute to improving the competitiveness and dynamism of the mango industry, both in the productive and the marketing sphere.
For more information: www.mango.org