Eldon (mango)

Eldon mangoes at the Redland Summer Fruit Festival, Fruit and Spice Park, Homestead, Florida

The 'Eldon' mango is a mango cultivar which originated in the USA state of Florida. 'Eldon' eventually became a commercially adopted variety.

History

The original tree was grown from a seed on the property of Walter B. Eldon in Miami, Florida in 1939.[1] Reportedly the seed had been a 'Haden' seed, and a 1995 analysis supported this; however a 2005 pedigree study did not support this, estimating that 'Eldon' was likely a seedling of 'Cowasji Patel' instead.[2] The original tree first fruited in 1942. Propagation was begun around 1948 by Lawrence Zill and J.W. Chafer.

While 'Eldon' did not become a popular nursery stock tree in Florida over the following decades, it did eventually gain commercial acceptance in Africa.[3]

'Eldon' trees are planted in the collections of the USDA's germplasm repository in Miami,[4] and the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida.[5] 'Eldon' may have been a parent of the 'Southern Blush' mango.

Description

The fruit is of oval shape and averages about a pound in weight; moreover, the fruit may have variegated color upon maturity, and can be a mix of green, yellow, orange and red blush. The flesh is yellow and has a sweet flavor with a pleasant aroma. The fruit contains a monoembryonic seed.

The trees are moderately vigorous with a large canopy that contains light green leaves.

References

  1. ↑ R. Bruce Ledin (1954). "Mango Varieties" (67). Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. pp. 284–290.
  2. ↑ Cecile T. Olano; Raymond J. Schnell; Wilber E. Quintanilla; Richard J. Campbell (2005). "Pedigree analysis of Florida mango cultivars" (118). Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. pp. 192–197.
  3. ↑ http://www.cirad.bf/doc/mouche2_09.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1083571 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
  5. ↑ http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/crane/pdfs/TREC-Fruit-Collections.pdf p., #27

See also