Top producers of mangoes, mangosteens, guavas, 2010-11 | Country | Production in millions of tons | India | ~ 16.34 | People's Republic of China | ~ 4.35 | Thailand | ~ 2.55 | Pakistan | ~ 1.78 | Mexico | ~ 1.63 | Indonesia | ~ 1.31 | Brazil | ~ 1.19 | World total | ~ 38.6 |

Common Names: Mango, Mangot, Manga, Mangou
Origin: The mango is native to southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India. It spread early on to Malaya, eastern Asia and eastern Africa.

Climatic requirements: Mangoes basically require a frost-free climate. Flowers and small fruit can be killed if temperatures drop below 40° F, even for a short period. Young trees may be seriously damaged if the temperature drops below 30° F, but mature trees may withstand very short periods of temperatures as low as 25° F. The mango must have warm, dry weather to make fruit. Mangos luxuriate in summer heat and resent cool summer fog. Wet, humid weather favors anthracnose and poor fruit set.

Historic diffusion: Cultivation and domestication of mangos probably began in the Indian subcontinent, where they have been grown for more than 4000 years. Buddhist monks took mango plants on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. By the tenth century AD, Persian traders had taken mango to the Middle East and East Africa. With the arrival of the Portuguese in India in the 15th century, it was later spread to South America, the Philippines and to West Africa. Mangos are now cultivated commercially throughout tropics and subtropical areas
Areas of cultivation: Mangoes are primarily being cultivated in tropical (rainforests) and subtropical (Florida, California) climates. The mango is naturally adapted to tropical lowlands between 25°N and 25°S of the Equator and up to elevations of 3,000 ft. (915 m).

Texture: The fruits grow at the end of a long stem with sometimes two or more fruits to a stem. The fruits are 2 to 9 inches long and can be kidney shaped, ovate or (rarely) round. They range in size from 8 ounces to around 24 ounces. The leathery skin is waxy and smooth, and when ripe entirely pale green or yellow marked with red. It is inedible and contains a sap that is irritating to some people. The quality of the fruit is based on the scarcity of fiber and minimal turpentine taste.

The flesh of a mango is peachlike and juicy, with more or less numerous fibers radiating from the husk of the single large kidney-shaped seed. Fibers are more pronounced in fruits grown with hard