Mango (Mangifera indica L.) breeding in the ecosystem of Cerrados of Central Brazil region through hybridization

Abstract

Large areas with monoclonal orchard have been established in the ecosystem of Brazilian Cerrados with Florida varieties of mango cultivar Tommy Atkins and Haden whose yield and fruit quality are still low. A program of hybridization by using controlled hand-pollination was initiated in 1980 with the objectives of improving fruit yield and quality, bearing consistency of plants, and mainly of developing cultivars with small tree size. Since hand-pollination of mango is time-consuming and expensive, a new method for decreasing the cost of mango hybridization is proposed and discussed.