The mango in French-speaking West Africa: varieties and

Fruits, vol. 62 (1) 57

Review**

The mango in French-speaking West Africa: varieties and varietalcomposition of the orchards.Abstract –– Introduction. The mango tree is one of the most widespread fruit trees in WestAfrica. A history of its introduction into that area was recently published. To follow upon thisdocument, the presented analysis was devoted to the principal varieties that are cultivated theretoday and to the impact of the historical and commercial factors on the varietal composition ofthe orchards. Some definitions. In precondition to an inventory of the varieties, certain termsmaking it possible to characterise them were specified (precocity, monoembryony and poly-embryony) and some information on the origin of the Floridian varieties was provided. Principalvarieties cultivated in West Africa. Four mango variety categories were distinguished: varietiesof local or polyembryonic mangos (mangots and Number One), first monoembryonic varietiespropagated by grafting (Amélie, Julie, Sabot, Djibelor and Cuisse Madame), and the Floridianvarieties, also monoembryonic and propagated by grafting, introduced later and used either forexport (Kent, Keitt, Palmer, Zill, Valencia, Smith, Irwin and Haden), or for the regional markets(Brooks, Davis-Haden, Miami Late, Springfels, Beverly, Eldon and Ruby). Each variety wasdescribed, like its farming characteristics and its outlets. The composition of the graftedmango tree orchards. This composition is influenced by the historical evolution and the pur-pose of the fruits that can be eaten, sold on the local, national or subregional market, exportedtoward the international market or processed in artisanal or industrial units. This orchard com-position was specified for Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.

Francophone Africa / Mangifera indica / introduced varieties / agronomiccharacters / precocity / fruits / phenotypes

La mangue en Afrique de l’Ouest francophone : variétés et compositionvariétale des vergers.Résumé — Introduction. Le manguier est l’un des arbres fruitiers les plus répandus en Afriquede l’Ouest. Un historique de son introduction dans la zone a été publié récemment. Pour fairesuite à ce document, l’analyse présentée a été consacrée aux principales variétés qui y sont cul-tivées aujourd’hui et à l’impact des facteurs historiques et commerciaux sur la composition varié-tale des vergers. Quelques définitions. En préalable à un inventaire des variétés, certainstermes permettant de les caractériser ont été précisés (précocité, monoembryonie et polyem-bryonie) et quelques informations sur l’origine des variétés floridiennes ont été fournies. Lesprincipales variétés cultivées en Afrique de l’Ouest. Quatre catégories ont été distinguées :les variétés de mangues locales ou polyembryonnées (mangots, mangue du Cameroun), les pre-mières variétés monoembryonnées propagées par greffage (Amélie, Julie, Sabot, Djibelor, CuisseMadame), les variétés floridiennes, également monoembryonnées et propagées par greffage,introduites plus tardivement et utilisées soit pour l’exportation (Kent, Keitt, Palmer, Zill, Valencia,Smith, Irwin, Haden), soit pour les marchés régionaux (Brooks, Davis-Haden, Miami Late, Sprin-gfels, Beverly, Eldon, Ruby). Chaque variété a été décrite, de même ses caractéristiques culturaleset ses débouchés. La composition des vergers de manguiers greffés. La composition desvergers greffés est influencée par l’évolution historique et la destination des fruits qui peuventêtre autoconsommés, vendus sur le marché local, national ou sous-régional, exportés sur le mar-ché international ou transformés dans des unités artisanales ou industrielles. Cette compositiona été précisée pour la Guinée, le Mali, le Burkina-Faso, la Côte d’Ivoire, le Sénégal et le Togo.

Afrique francophone / Mangifera indica / variété introduite / caractèreagronomique / précocité / fruits / phénotype

a Cirad, UPR Productions fruitières, TA 50/PS4, Bd de la Lironde, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5,France

[email protected]

b IER, URG, BP 30, Bamako, Mali

c Irag, CRA Bordo, BP 352 Kankan, Guinée

The mango in French-speaking West Africa: varieties and varietal composition of the orchardsJean-Yves REYa*, Thierno Mamadou DIALLOb, Henri VANNIÈREa, Christian DIDIERa, Sidiki KÉITAc, Morodjan SANGARÉc

* Correspondence and reprints

** Translation of the review published in Fruits, 2004, vol. 59, pp. 191–208

Reçu le 16 avril 2004Accepté le 24 mai 2004

Fruits, 2007, vol. 62, p. 57–73© 2007 Cirad/EDP SciencesAll rights reservedDOI: 10.1051/fruits:2006051

RESUMEN ESPAÑOL, p. 73

Article published by EDP Sciences and available at http://www.edpsciences.org/fruits or http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/fruits:2006051

http://www.edpsciences.org/fruits

http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/fruits:2006051

58 Fruits, vol. 62 (1)

J.-Y. Rey et al.

1. Introduction

According to the already published historyretracing the spread of the mango tree inWest Africa [1], the first mango trees plantedin this zone were the fibrous-fruited poly-embryonic mangots. Introduced during the19th Century, they experienced strong growthduring the second half of this century. Thegrafted monoembryonic varieties wereestablished after 1890. Initially, only Amélie,and to a much lesser degree Divine andJulie, were significantly widespread. It wasonly from 1960, and again after 1980 that theFloridian varieties, introduced in 1949 at theFoulaya station, near Kindia in Guinea,experienced strong growth in West Africa.

Study of the development of interconti-nental exports [1] showed that they hadstarted at the end of the 1960s. Dominatedfrom 1970 to 1990 by Mali, followed byBurkina Faso, they were later primarilydriven by Côte d’Ivoire, which, with thedevelopment of sea shipments, experiencedstrong growth of its exports in the followingdecade. More recently, Senegal has alsogreatly increased its shipments.

During these periods, the Amélie varietyformed the bulk of the first exports. Subse-quently, it was largely replaced by the Flor-idian varieties (Kent, Keitt, Palmer, Valencia,etc.) [1].

The study presented is a continuation ofthe history mentioned in brief above. It con-centrated on the main mango tree varietiescultivated in West Africa and on the impactof historical and commercial factors on thevarietal composition of the orchards. Someconcepts such as precocity, mono and pol-yembryony, and some information on theorigin of the Floridian varieties, which alongwith Amélie form nearly all of West Africa’sgrafted orchard stock, were specified in theforeword to aid overall comprehension.

2. Some definitions

2.1. Precocity

The term “precocious”, applied to fruit spe-cies, may have several meanings. It can

qualify either a tree which bears fruit soonafter being planted, or a variety (or species)capable of producing its fruits before theothers in the season. In our presentation, weused the terms “precocious, precocity” (andtheir opposites “late, lateness”) in this lattersense, reserving the expression “quick-fruit-ing” for trees bearing fruit young.

In the dry savannah zones, where exportmangos are produced, there is a gradient offruit bearing periods. The most precociouszones are situated in southern Korhogo(Dikodougou, Tafiré) in Côte d’Ivoire, andthe latest are located further north and, to alesser extent, to the west. So, the mangos ofSenegal’s Niayes or those of the most north-ern zones (Senegal’s lowland valleys) arethe latest. This change is primarily due to theextended cold period.

Furthermore, the harvesting of the firstfruits must not be confused with the peakof production of the variety within the samezone. In the cities, trees planted in residen-tial areas are subject to numerous attacks(entanglement with cables, debarking,machete damage, spiking), and are regu-larly subjected to smoke during the prepa-ration of meals on wood fires. Smoking is atechnique used in Asia to trigger tree flow-ering [2]. This could explain why old mangotrees planted in urban areas bear more fruitsout of season than young trees in ruralorchards, and why small Amélie cropsappear in Bamako from February, althoughthe production peak for this variety is inApril–May. For greater consistency in ourdocument henceforth the production dateof the variety will be defined according tothe harvest peak.

Within a given zone, the productionperiod of a variety depends on the particularconditions of the plot: microclimate, soil,tree history, etc. At the fruit research stationof Korhogo [National Agronomy ResearchCentre (CNRA)] in northern Côte d’Ivoire,extending over 40 ha, yields of plots of thesame variety may be nearly a month apart.

2.2. Monoembryony and polyembryony

Zygotic (sexual) embryos come from ferti-lisation: the female gamete, or oosphere,

The mango in French speaking West Africa (II)


with n chromosomes, is fertilised by themale gamete, or sperm nucleus (n chromo-somes). After this fertilisation process, theegg or zygote has 2 × n chromosomes. Inheterozygous plants (non-fixed), the embryocreated from genetic recombinations duringthe process of meiosis and fertilisation hasa different genome to that of the mother, andits brothers and sisters.

However, apogamous embryos originatefrom diploid somatic cells (with 2n chromo-somes), most often originating from theovum nucellus, hence they are known as“nucellus embryos”. Since they are createdfrom reproduction of a somatic cell whichhas not undergone any process of meiosisor fertilisation, these embryos have the samegenetic potential as the mother plant. Thismechanism provides seedlings and thentrees identical to the mother plant, even inheterozygous species. With the exception ofrare cases of embryo polyploidy or extraor-dinary properties in the mother, plants fromsomatic embryo seedlings are thereforegenetically equivalent to those obtained byvegetative propagation. The phenotypes arehowever distinguished by a long juvenilephase, shortened by the vegetative propa-gation of adult organs.

In the mango tree, seeds of monoembry-onic varieties contain only one zygoticembryo. The stones of polyembronic varie-ties have one (or no) zygotic embryo, andone or more somatic embryos. In free pol-lination, the percentage of stones containingzygote embryos is 20% for Turpentine and22% for variety 13-1, whereas it falls to 13%for Turpentine if these two cultivars areplaced in isolation cages [3]. Some varieties,such as Carabao, Pico and Cambodiana,appear to only have nucellus embryos [4].

Generally, polyembryonic varieties aremore productive. The persistence of nucel-lus embryos promotes fruit setting [5]. Con-versely, in monoembryonic varieties, it israre for parthenocarpic embryonic varietiesto develop after termination of the zygoticembryo. The tougher the environmentalconditions during the flowering period, thegreater the advantage of the polyembryonicvarieties over the monoembryonic varieties.This is the case in dry savannah zones,where the low humidity of the harmattan

season does not always favour good polli-nation.

2.3. The genetic origin of the Floridian varieties

The mango trees believed to have originatedin the Indo-Burman region [1] appear tohave spread in two directions: to Malaysiaand South-East Asia, producing polyembry-onic varieties, and towards the Gulf of Ben-gal and India, producing monoembryonicvarieties [4]. In fact, the majority of Indianmangos are monoembryonic. The rare pol-yembryonic varieties present on the Westcoast of India appear to have been intro-duced to Goa by the Portuguese from theirAsian possessions, Macao or Timor [4].

On the American continent, mango treeswere introduced from their two primary ori-gins. In the 18th Century, the Asiatic poly-embryonic varieties were planted in CentralAmerica (Mexico and Panama), and then inthe Caribbean by the Spanish who hadreached Asia by the Pacific Ocean afterrounding America via the Strait of Magellan[6]. The names of the Mexican varieties suchas Manila or Philipino are a reminder of theirorigin. Other mango trees appear to havecome from the east, introduced by way ofAfrica or the Indian Ocean islands initially.The Portuguese appear to have planted thefirst mango trees in Bahia, Brazil, but “notbefore 1700” according to Popenoe [6]. In1782, a ship containing mango plants fromthe Isle of France, now Mauritius, bound forHispaniola (Haiti, Santo-Domingo) was cap-tured by British pirates and sent to Jamaica,where the trees were planted and pros-pered. Thirty-two years later, the mango treehad become a very common plant there [6].

In the United States, the first introductionappears to have been made near Miami in1833, with plants from Mexico. But then,with the progress of transportation, importsof various origins multiplied [6]. From 1889,monoembryonic Indian grafted plants weresystematically introduced in Florida by theUnited States Department of Agriculture(USDA), including the Mulgoba variety, aseed from which would give rise to Haden[6, 7]. Many Floridian cultivars, such asEldon, Smith, Lippens, Tommy Atkins, Zill,


J.-Y. Rey et al.

Glenn, Springfels and Valencia aredescended from Haden. Keitt apparentlyoriginated directly from Mulgoba, while theIrwin variety apparently originated fromLippens, and Spirit of 76 from Zill seedlings.Edwards was apparently a hybrid of Hadenand Carabao [7].

After Mulgoba, Sandersha [6, 7] was thesecond Indian monoembryonic variety usedas a progenitor in Florida. Brooks andAnderson originated from Sandersha seed-lings, whereas Kent apparently originatedfrom Brooks and Fascell was a hybrid ofHaden and Brooks [7]. The name Saigonwas attributed to a group of trees originatingfrom a batch of seeds that D. Fairchild hadsent to the USDA from Saigon, now Ho ChiMinh City, Vietnam. Cambodiana originatedfrom selection made within this group ofhighly heterogeneous trees in terms of sizeand shape, and the Florigon variety appar-ently originated from a Saigon seedling [6,7]. The parentage of Palmer and Ruby isunknown [7].

So, most of the Floridian varieties that wehave more especially studied are apparentlydescended from two Indian monoembry-onic varieties.

3. The main varieties cultivated in West Africa

Although the introduction of mangos toWest Africa is recent, the inhabitants distin-guish the “local mangos” or mangots, whichare polyembryonic, seed reproducing, mainlyfibrous, from the “imported mangos”, whichare monoembryonic, and reproduce bygrafting. For practical reasons, we will adoptthis distinction by classifying West Africanmango varieties into three main groups: pol-yembryonic varieties, Floridian varieties andother varieties, primarily represented byAmélie.

3.1. Local or polyembryonic mangos

3.1.1. The Nunkourouni, or Tête de chat, Mangot

The fibrous, polyembryonic Nunkourounimangot (figure 1) is widespread throughout

West Africa and Central Africa. In each siteit bears a different name which may berelated to the origin of its introduction(Sierra Leone in Senegal, German mangot incertain areas of Cameroon), to the zonewhere it is cultivated (N’gaoundéré mango,in Adamaoua, Cameroon) or to the shapeof the fruit. In mandinga languages, theshape of the fruit is often likened to partsof the face (mouth, nose, etc.). So thismango is known as Nez court (Short noze)or Tête de chat (Cat’s head) (Nunkourounior Diakuma Koun or Mankoron Ba). It isalso called Greffeul in Senegal.

The tree is vigorous, with dark green foli-age. The leaves are long with undulatingedges, and the inflorescence is red coloured.Adult trees are highly productive. Produc-tion is very precocious in the season, whichmakes them the first mangos on the market.

The fruit is flattened laterally, with arounded shape and a ventral shoulderwhich extending down quite a long way.There are many local types and the fruitshape varies according to the productionzones. Their weight varies from (150 to300) g. The skin is red, yellow or greenwhen ripe. The bright orange pulp, rich involatile compounds [8], has a very pleasanttaste. The very many short fibres which stickto the stone for a long time impaired itsindustrial use. However modern processessuch as the “flash-détente” technique enablethe pulp to be used without the inconven-ience of the fibres.

The number of trees producing Nunkour-ouni mangots in each country is difficult toevaluate, since most surveys on mango treesdo not count trees from seedlings deemedof low economic benefit. Orchards of purelythis variety are rare today, but it is presentin all living spaces: squares, yards, arches,railway stations, roadsides and street sides,isolated or in groves in the fields. As it isused as a rootstock, it is possible to observeisolated individuals in orchards when thegraft fails or if a reject has taken over thegraft. If new growth from the rootstock hasnot been eliminated, the branches of thegrafted variety cohabit with those of therootstock.

In a city like Conakry (Guinea), there isat least one mango tree of this variety per



Figure 1.Some polyembryonic mango varieties consumed locally, and presentation of some monoembryonic varieties among the first to be propagated in West Africa by grafting (a color version of this figure is available at www.edpsciences.org/fruits).


J.-Y. Rey et al.

house. Between Conakry and Mamou,around 300 km apart, these mango trees linethe road over half of its distance. The Nunk-ourouni mango tree is present in all the citiesof Upper Guinea, where it constitutes theshade tree for public avenues and squares.This variety is present not only in all WestAfrican countries, but also in the wet zonesnear the ocean and in the dry savannahs.

Production of Nunkourouni mangots is asdifficult to evaluate as the number of itstrees, since the fruit is for self-consumptionor sold in local markets. Children harvestmangots in treetops by climbing into thebranches or bringing them down by throw-ing stones. Evaluations gave average yieldsof (150 to 200) kg of fruit per tree per year.Production could be evaluated as at least50 000 t per country, but much higher forcountries such as Guinea or Mali.

3.1.2. The Dadiani, or Bouche longue, mangot

Just like the Nunkourouni mangot tree, thepolyembryonic variety which produces theDadiani mangot (figure 1) is known underdifferent names. The tree has a less erectshape than the previous mangos. The inflo-rescence is whitish yellow. The fruit is small,(150 to 250) g. Its skin is light green to yel-low with pink to red mottling when ripe.The ventral shoulder is short and the apexlong, hence the names Bouche longue (LongMouth) or Nez long (Long nose) (Dadiani,Nundiani). In the publications of Ollé et al.[9, 10], it is known by the name of Mbengué,the city where it was harvested for these tri-als. The apex part of the fruit is straight orslightly curved, hence the name ‘Sabre’which it is given in certain collections. Theflesh is yellow to light orange. The fruits aresensitive to anthracnose. There are manyfibres; the pulp is less flavoured and moredelicate than that of Nunkourouni. The pro-ductivity of adult trees is very good. Produc-tion is precocious in the season, coincidingwith that of Nunkourouni. Although widelyrepresented, this mango is however lesswidespread than the previous one.

For these two mangots, the delicacy ofthe pulp, the small size of the cheeks andthe difficulties of agri-business use of thefibrous pulp using conventional techniques

meant that these fruits were largely reservedfor self-consumption and the local markets.Their abundance in the production seasonenables broad sections of the population tohave their fill of them. In Guinea, the inhab-itants prefer these varieties to any others,and the precocious grafted varieties find fewtakers.

3.1.3. Other mangots and local varieties

Besides the Nunkourouni and Dadiani man-gots, there are other fibrous mangots suchas Mangotine (Fumani), which has small,very sweet smelling fruits of (80 to 100) g,and Mangot vert (Green mangot), intro-duced from the West Indies at the Foulayastation (Guinea). Some other varieties maybe abundant on a regional or national scale,such as the small known as the Séwal inSenegal.

3.1.4. The Cameroon mango

The Cameroon mango (figure 1) requiresspecial presentation. Introduced initially tothe Douala region (Cameroon), this poly-embryonic variety was propagated by seedsalong the coast before being widely distrib-uted to the interior of the country, inYaoundé, the forest zone, then to the northand neighbouring countries. It is knownunder various names – Mangue du littoral(Coast mango), in the French-speaking part,and Number One, in the English speakingzone are the best known. Outside of Cam-eroon, it is called the Cameroon mango orAméliorée du Cameroun (Cameroon refined)(this latter term originally encompassed fiveclones selected by de Laroussilhe, who hadnamed them Ifac 1 to Ifac 5).

In several West African countries, thisvariety was propagated primarily by grafting.Consumed locally, it has never had the rel-ative importance that it has in Central Africa.

The tree may grow strongly under favour-able conditions. The leaves are big, withundulating edges. The fruits are small, withyellow or green skin when ripe, with a del-icate non-fibrous pulp, highly sensitive tojelly seed around the stone. Depending onthe fruits, the pulp colour varies betweenbright orange and whitish, through various



shades of yellow. The taste is fairly under-stated, pleasant smelling and slightly acidic.

The tree and fruit are reminiscent of someSouth-East Asian varieties. Its main benefitis bearing abundant fruit in the wet zones.But the characteristics of the fruit (greenskin, pulp delicacy, small size, etc.) impairlong-distance sale.

3.2. The first monoembryonic varieties propagated by grafting

3.2.1. Amélie

The Amélie variety (figure 1), whose originsare not really known, was introduced fromthe West Indies at the catholic mission ofKita. Is it the same variety as the Reine-Amélie mentioned by Sébire in the Thièscollection [9]? It is currently widespread inall the dry savannah zones north of 9° lati-tude N, although it is sometimes foundmixed in orchards situated further south, inTogo for instance. This geographic distribu-tion is related to its sensitivity to flower andfruit mycoses (oidium, anthracnose). Its rel-ative importance in the savannah earned itthe name of “greffée” (grafted) in manyplaces, where it was it was for a long timethe only grafted variety. It is also known asGouverneur, particularly in Burkina-Faso.

The tree has a characteristic shape, verydifferent to that of the Floridian varieties. Ofmodest size, it has dense leafing in a ballshape. Its highly ramified branches bear small,flat light-green leaves with regular edges.

The fruit has a green or yellow skin whenripe, which in the lateritic soils may take ona beautiful red coloration on the partexposed to the sun. The flesh is a beautifulbright orange. The sugar and acidity levelsvary according to the farming conditions,but are generally below those of Floridiancultivars [10]. The taste and smell are easilyrecognisable. According to Ollé et al.[9], thearomas of Amélie are special, “as they arepractically lacking in car-3-ene, with (Z)-and (E)-ocimene as the primary monoterpe-nes. The latter two volatile compounds havea hot, grassy and floral odour, while theodour of car-3-ene is mild, reminiscent ofrefined limonene”.

These aromas were also apparentlyfound in puree and ripe or green IndianAlphonso mangos or in those of the Jaffnacultivar cultivated in northern Sri Lanka [8].In West Africa, we only know a single cul-tivar which has the same taste as Amélie.This is a highly coloured red skinned varietyin a collection at CNRA, Korhogo, but whichpractically is not distributed.

Amélie is the most precocious of the com-mercial varieties. Cold storage of green fruitis satisfactory in spite of a certain sensitivityto flaking, which causes fairly rapid degra-dation of ripe fruits. The lack of red color-ation on the skin of this variety and its rel-atively short shelf life encourage Europeanimporters to favour other cultivars, but itsprecocity means it can be exported until thered varieties arrive.

The production of Amélie, which canreach several hundred kilos on certain trees,is very low on average, due in particular toa poor fertilisation rate (table I). In northernCôte d’Ivoire, the average export fruit yieldsof this variety fluctuate between (1 and 2)t·ha-1.

3.2.2. Julie and Sabot

The West African Julie1 variety is differentto that of the French West Indies, but it isclose to the Sabot variety (figure 1). Theshape of the tree is similar to the Amélie, butthe leaves are undulated. The fruit is flat,square or oval-shaped with Julie, and clogshaped in Sabot. The skin colour varies fromgreen to brown when ripe, with sometimesred spots. The very delicate flesh, dark yel-low to orange in colour, has a highly pro-nounced musk taste prized by local con-sumers, who have given Julie the nameMuscat. The fruit is practically untransport-able due to its ripening speed and the del-icacy of its pulp. Its distribution area is thesame as that of Amélie, but apart from a fewspecimens kept by planters for personal

1 There is a Julie Kasowa present in the Iradcollections (Institute of Agricultural Researchfor Development) in Cameroon, which isfairly widespread in the northern provincesof this country under the name Julie, butwhich is different from the mangos of theWest African Julie variety.


J.-Y. Rey et al.

consumption, these varieties are beingabandoned.

3.2.3. Djibelor

In Casamance, in southern Senegal, theDjibelor mango, also known as the Pêche(peach) mango (figure 1) is an excellentfibre-free fruit. It is close to an Indian varietyknown as Paheri (aka – Peter Passand,Alphonse Paheri, Païri).

3.2.4. Cuisse Madame

Cuisse Madame was part of an orchard setup near Siguiri, in Upper Guinea, in 1931.It produces a large green-skinned fruit. Itsspread is limited to Upper Guinea.

3.3. The Floridian varieties used for export

Since the monoembryonic Floridian varie-ties are widespread throughout the world,we undertook to describe their characteris-tics in the special conditions of West Africa.

3.3.1. Kent

The Kent variety (figure 2), Floridian in ori-gin, was introduced at the Foulaya stationin Guinea by Py in 1949. For around tenyears, it has replaced the Amélie variety asthe main West African export variety. Somefruit characteristics are heavily influencedby the soil types. At the Lataha CNRA station,near Korhogo (Côte d’Ivoire), which has asurface area of 40 ha, some plots can bearfruit nearly a month after the others. Thefruits are precocious, firm and coloured onthe lateritic hillsides, while they can be dark

green, late and affected by physiological dis-orders on wet clay lowland soils.

The traditions of the Senoufos, the mainethnic group of northern Côte d’Ivoire, aimedto retain a balance between the annualcrops (cotton and food producing) and per-ennial crops (mangos, cashew nuts and for-est species). The first mango orchards wereoften relegated to the lateritic gravel hills,unsuitable for annual crops, but capable ofproducing precocious and magnificentfruits. This was one of the factors favouringthe growth of exports from Côte d’Ivoire.

Kent bears fruit between 10 April and 20May in the south of the export zone(Korhogo, Ferké in Côte d’Ivoire), in May inSikasso (Mali) and in West Burkina-Faso,from 15 May around Kankan (Guinea), fromMay to July in Bamako (Mali) and from Julyto September in Niayes (Senegal). Someorchards around Korhogo can be fully har-vested in mid-April.

The Kent variety is characterised by a rel-atively low pulp water content, which couldexplain its good shelf life (table II). The fruitripens very gradually. The dry solubleextract of Kent mangos ready for consump-tion is high, and may reach 22 °Brix in somefruits, whereas acidity, lower when har-vested than in the other varieties mentioned,is higher after ripening (table III).

Analyses of mangos from Northern Côted’Ivoire conducted by Collin and Dalnicconfirmed these results [12]. On the otherhand, the analyses conducted by RamataDiallo on ripe fruits from Maritime Guinearevealed dry soluble extracts and acidity lev-els below those of Korhogo for Kent andKeitt (table IV). These analyses conductedin July, i.e., 1.5 months after the start of the

Table I.Breakdown of female flowers and fruit bearing rates of three mango tree varieties atthe Lataha station, Korhogo, northern Côte d’Ivoire (according to Briot [11]).

Variety % of female flowersin apex position

Average %of female flowers

Fruit bearing rateper panicle

Amélie 22.7 (± 7.9) 11.1 (± 4.1) 10

Keitt 65.5 (± 18.0) 30.1 (± 8.9) 31

Kent 32.5 (± 8.9) 20.5 (± 6.0) 25



Figure 2.Presentation of Floridian monoembryonic varieties produced in West Africa and used either for export, or for the national or regional markets. (A color version of this figure is available at www.edpsciences.org/fruits.)


J.-Y. Rey et al.

rainy season, confirmed that Kent has thehighest soluble dry extracts of the varietiesanalysed. Certain fruits (Kent and Keitt)were affected with physiological disorders.

The size of the Kent fruits, which prima-rily come in sizes 7 to 10 (number of fruitsper 4 kg box), completely satisfies thedemand of the European market, and in par-ticular the French market.

When the fruits from the dry savannahripen, the green colour of the skin disap-pears largely, giving way to a beautiful yel-low. Then the ripe fruits are red and yellowor red, green and yellow. They are muchmore attractive when ripe than at their har-vesting stage.

So the Kent variety combines many com-mercial qualities, which explains its successwith European importers: good transportresistance, high conservation life of coldstored ripe fruit, high soluble dry extract,beautiful coloration of fruits produced inappropriate conditions, decent sizes.

3.3.2. Keitt

The Keitt variety (figure 2) was introduced,like Kent, by Py at Foulaya in 1949. It is thelatest of the export varieties. Although someorchards produce fruit from mid-April nearKorhogo, its harvest period extends fromthe end of April to the start of June in north-ern Côte d’Ivoire. In Sikasso (Mali) and inWest Burkina-Faso (Orodara, Banfora), itproduces fruit in May–June, and until Julyand sometimes August. In Bamako (Mali),the harvest extends from June to August andSenegal exports it until September–October.

The ripening time of the fruits is verylong. It may be as much as 3 weeks at nor-mal temperature for fruits which thendevelop normally. On the other hand, theripe fruits have a shelf life shorter thanKent’s. The soluble dry extract is relativelyhigh, although the averages are slightlybelow Kent’s (tables III, IV).

The harvested fruit’s colour varies: green,light yellow with or without areas of a cop-per red. However, it changes little in ripen-ing. Keitt’s fruits, which are more coloured

Table II.Skin and pulp dry matter of mangos from northern Côte d’Ivoireduring the 1989 season (according to Collin and Dalnic [12]).

Variety Pulp dry matter(%)

Skin dry matter(%)

Amélie 14.37 22.15

Keitt 17.75 23.68

Kent 20.47 25.03

Mangot 18.38 23.51

Palmer 16.92 19.85

Ruby 20.15 27.24

Table III.Soluble dry extract and acidity of three export mango varieties collected at the ripe stage for export in Korhogo,northern Côte d’Ivoire (according to Briot [11], Guépratte [13] and Moulio [14]).

Variety1 Analyses when harvested Analyses after ripening

Soluble dry extract (ºBrix)

Acidity(meq·100 g–1 of pulp)

Soluble dry extract(ºBrix)

Acidity(mEq·100 g–1 of pulp)

Amélie 89 d 6.8 ± 0.8 26.8 ± 3.8 13.9 ± 1.9 9.0 ± 3.4

Kent 120 d(January flowering)

9.4 ± 1.5 15.6 ± 5.2 19.9 ± 2.2 11.2 ± 2.3

Kent 120 d(February flowering)

9.4 ± 1.0 18.8 ± 4.8 19.6 ± 1.4 10.6 ± 2.1

Keitt 132 d 10.5 ± 1.6 19.4 ± 4.3 18.5 ± 1.4 7.9 ± 1.8

1 The number of days corresponds to the arbitrarily chosen interval between flowering of the end flower of the panicle and the harvest. January or February were the flowering months of the inflorescences which bore fruits.



than Kent’s during conditioning, are lessattractive when ripe.

The fruit size also varies according to theenvironmental conditions. On the gravelhillsides, the fruits are firm, coloured and ofsatisfactory size for export (6 to 10),although a significant proportion of produc-tion has to be rejected due to excessive size.On the other hand, on rich, wet soils, theirskin remains green, or dark green (“black”in the vocabulary of the harvesters), and thesize is too big for export (6 and under).Some fruits may exceed 1.5 kg. Physiologi-cal disorders may also be observed, but lessintense than with Kent.

The fruit-bearing peduncles are verylong, and the branches are little ramified andsupple. The fruits are thereby exposed tovarious hazards: friction against the groundor branches, insect damage, etc. The skin ismuch more sensitive to injuries than Kent’s.In spite of good fertilisation, the averageproduction of export fruits remains moder-ate, from (3 to 5) t·ha–1 in northern Côted’Ivoire, which nonetheless makes it themost productive export fruit variety.

3.3.3. Palmer

The introduction of the Palmer variety (fig-ure 2) in West Africa was the same as for theprevious varieties. It is a medium late to lateseason variety, depending on the location.It produces somewhat after Kent: in Mayand early June in the south of the exportzone, and from May to July in the North, inthe Bamako region. The trees are produc-tive. It is one of the most coloured varieties.With the exception of fruits embeddedinside the foliage, over half of the fruit is col-oured a dark purple. The rest is green whenharvested, and becomes yellow when ripe.

The fruit size varies, but overall they aresmaller than Kent’s, with a high proportionof mangos from (300 to 450) g. This varietyhas low sensitivity to physiological disorders,and has good conservation properties. Itsbrix rate is higher than Amélie’s: 17.2 °Brixfor Palmer as opposed to 13.1 °Brix forAmélie [10].

The Palmer variety is fairly difficult tohandle for export. Its red coloration appearswell before ripening of the fruit, and is mis-

leading for the harvesters. The abundantburning sap causes skin burns if precautionsare not taken. Putting the fruit in long boxesis not easy: besides the small grades, it isimpossible to arrange the fruits vertically,and, when they are placed flat, there is a riskof the box not reaching the minimum weight.

This variety is fairly well prized in theNorthern European markets, especially inBelgium, where medium sizes, below thoseof the French market, are prized. In France,the Palmer mango is marketed in differentways according to the traders, but generallyit does not sell as well as Kent.

3.3.4. Zill

After being highly prized at one time, the Zillvariety is now little sought after in spite ofits beautiful coloration when ripe. It suffersfrom major defects, especially its very fastdevelopment towards ripeness which leadsto a very short shelf life. Often with lowyield, it bears small fruits on the whole. Itsadvantage is reaching maturity a few daysbefore Kent, enabling a few red fruits to beexported in the Amélie market period.

3.3.5. Valencia

The Valencia variety (figure 2), which wasfairly well used for air exports, has beencompletely abandoned in Côte d’Ivoire withthe development of ship exports, due to itspoor transport resistance. It has, on theother hand, been rediscovered by Bamakoair exporters, who value its beautiful color-ation. The tree has a strong vegetal growth,

Table IV.Soluble dry extract and acidity of seven mango varieties afterripening, Maritime Guinea (according to Ramata Diallo, pers. comm.).

Variety Soluble dry extract(ºBrix)

Acidity(meq·100 g–1 of pulp)

Kent 14.6 6.2

Keitt 13.9 3.2

Sabot 13.7 7.4

Lippens 12.9 2.5

Beverly 12.5 10.8

Brooks 11.4 6.6

Irwin 12.1 4.9


J.-Y. Rey et al.

but it does not have the production volumeto match. In Bamako, the Valencia varietybears fruit before Kent.

3.3.6. Smith

The Smith variety, which bears fruit in theseason or medium-late, has fairly goodyields. It is highly sensitive to environmentalconditions, both for the internal and exter-nal qualities. It often exhibits physiologicalproblems, such as early overripeness of theapex part, or the development of roots in thepulp. The red coloration is important, but itvaries from a striking vermilion to a dullwine red. The size may be satisfactory (7 to9) or too big, with a majority of non-standardfruits. It is in the Yagoua zone, in northernCameroon, that the most beautiful speci-mens of this variety can be found: abundantproduction, average size fruits, beautifulcolour, firm flesh, etc. Since the Smith vari-ety bears fruit at the same time as Kent inthe present export zone, it is no longer ofgreat benefit.

3.3.7. Irwin

With its beautiful coloration, the Irwin vari-ety’s shape varies according to the produc-tion zones. In the Kindia region, in Guinea,its fruit has an overall oval shape while innorthern Côte d’Ivoire, it takes on an “S”shape with numerous deformations (bumps,finger-like protrusions, etc.). These anoma-lies are not due to cloning, since grafts takenfrom Kindia trees which bore good fruitsreproduced the same anomalies at Korhogo.For a long time the main export variety fromMaritime Guinea, the Irwin cultivar has beenabandoned in favour of Keitt by Guineanexporters who believe that Irwin ripens tooquickly for sea transport.

3.3.8. Haden

The Haden variety has yellow, green andbright red coloured fruits when ripe, whichmakes it the most beautiful export variety.Their flesh is sweet and attractive, in spiteof the presence of small fibres. Dependingon the environmental conditions, their sizeis medium to small. The yield of the tree islow to medium, depending on soil andwater resources. This cultivar, which couldhave been widely distributed, is not widely

spread, doubtless for historical reasons — itdid not figure in the first collections — butalso due to its modest productivity in diffi-cult conditions and some physiologicalproblems. The rare trees in production aredifficult to manage because exporters do nothave enough fruits at the same time to beable to make up complete pallets of the dif-ferent sizes. Consequently, planters are notencouraged to plant more. Only a few airshipments are sent.

3.4. The Floridian varieties used for the national and regional markets

3.4.1. Brooks

The Brooks variety (figure 2) with its green,whitish or yellow skin when ripe, is oftenknown as Retard because of its late produc-tion, from June to October in Côte d’Ivoire.The productivity of the tree is very high andregular from year to year. The fruits havefirm flesh, are free from physiological dis-orders and prized by local consumers. Onthe other hand it is highly sensitive to fruitfly holes. The size is regular, with the major-ity of fruits between (350 and 450) g, whichmake good fruits portions. It is only lackingcolour to be an excellent export variety!

3.4.2. Davis-Haden

The Davis-Haden cultivar is known asKent Rouge in Mali, because of the beautifulskin coloration. The fruits are of an averageweight varying from (500 to 1200) g, andthey may exceed 1500 g. With these fruitsthe flesh ripeness is highly irregular. Theharvest, generally from July, is late and thefruits are highly sensitive to fly holes andfungal diseases, which leads to great losses.The size of the fruits and their sensitivity todiseases and pests make using this varietyfor intercontinental export difficult.

3.4.3. Miami Late

The Miami Late variety (figure 2) has a shapereminiscent of Kent’s, but with a less devel-oped area of red. In Mali, it is known asSouroukou Koun (Hyena’s head). The len-ticels are prominent and, when ripe, it doesnot have the striking colour of Kent. The



fruits are of a regular size, generally weigh-ing from (400 to 600) g although some fruitsmay be exceptionally big (over 1 kg). Theproduction period varies according to theenvironmental conditions, but overall it ismedium-late to late. Production is abundantand regular. Along with Brooks, it is one ofthe most productive varieties, but also oneof the most sensitive to fly holes. In wetzones, it is attacked by anthracnose. It doesnot withstand storage well.

3.4.4. Springfels

Springfels is, along with Davis-Haden, thecultivar that produces the biggest fruits,which has earned it the nickname namePapaye, by way of comparison with thelocal big-fruited papayas, rather than theSolo papaya variety. The skin is yellow anddull red when ripe. The fairly sweet pulp,which contains big longitudinal fibres, isprized locally. Production is medium-lateand generally on a small scale.

3.4.5. Beverly and Glazier

These two varieties, originally introduced toFoulaya as with all the Floridian mangos,were positioned side by side in the collec-tion established at the Guinean research sta-tion and their fruits are similar, which hasled to subsequent confusions. While in Malior in Guinea these cultivars are well distin-guished, the same does not apply in Côted’Ivoire, where the variety known as Bev-erly is actually Glazier, far inferior to theformer. Glazier has red spots on the partsexposed to the sun, whereas Beverly islighter, or even white under certain condi-tions. The fruits are medium to large, notvery attractive when ripe, sensitive to flyholes and medium-late.

3.4.6. Eldon

The Eldon variety has a high yield in the sea-son of yellow fruits with a somewhat mutedcopper coloration. The size is satisfactory,from (300 to 450) g, and the taste not verystrong. This cultivar, with its medium-sizedfruits, does not exhibit any quality in anyarea that could distinguish it and justify largeplantations for the local market or export.Its main defect resides in the plentiful secre-

tion of a burning sap, which causes damageon contact with the skin.

3.4.7. Ruby

Nicknamed Mademoiselle in northern Côted’Ivoire, the Ruby variety is sought after byconsumers who prize its acidic and fragranttaste. The skin is strongly red coloured, butthe fruits are very small, and generally weighless than 150 g. These mangos are sound,and rarely suffer fly attacks. Although thereis plenty on the trees, the harvested weightremains modest due to the small fruit size.Producers retain a few trees for self-con-sumption or local sale.

4. The composition of thegrafted mango tree orchards

The composition of grafted mango treeorchards is influenced by historical devel-opment, and the purpose of the fruits, whichmay be for self-consumption, sale on thelocal, national or sub-regional markets,export to the international market orprocessing in artisanal or industrial units.

The historical development has four dis-tinct distribution phases of the mango treein West Africa: the expansion of seed man-gots, the establishment of Amélie orchards,the distribution of coloured mangos frommultilocal collections and the varietal con-centration on Kent and Keitt, under theinfluence of the exporters. These stagesoften overlapped, so, in certain zones, thespread of the red varieties occurred along-side the expansion of Amélie.

4.1. Guinea

In Guinea, there are two big productionregions. Maritime Guinea is the wettest WestAfrican mango export zone. It is primarilyplanted with varieties which were intro-duced at the Foulaya station (Kindia).Exports, which only represent a low per-centage of production, have not had a sig-nificant impact on the varietal choices of theproducers, especially since the choices ofthe exporters have evolved over recentyears (from Irwin to Keitt).


J.-Y. Rey et al.

Upper Guinea has a hotter and drier cli-mate than Maritime Guinea: it is reminiscentof the main production zones in neighbour-ing countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, BurkinaFaso). The first grafted mangos were aboveall Amélie, planted in the zone nearest toMali (Siguiri). Mango trees then extendedafter the establishment in 1967 of a process-ing factory producing mango pulp. This fac-tory worked more or less regularly until1984 before being officially closed in 1985.While it was active, the varietal choicefocused on big-fruited, productive and latevarieties to extend the factory’s supplyperiod. Of the varieties available in Guinea,Keitt and Miami Late best matched thesecriteria.

After the factory’s closure, traders in thenational market took over selling produc-tion. But since the mango market is satu-rated in the early season by the abundantmango production, the precocious or sea-son varieties sell poorly. The demand isgreater for the big, late and sweet fruits,which sell relatively well in the mining andforest regions. So Keitt and Miami Late con-tinue to be the most planted varieties. Theexporters’ demand is very low in the zone,primarily coming from Côte d’Ivoire exportagents who do not come to Guinea regularlyevery year. The Keitt variety is prized by theinternal market, and not as an export vari-ety; which explains why Kent productionremains modest while Keitt’s is high.

Upper Guinea is one of the productionzones experiencing the biggest sale prob-lems in West Africa. This is due in part tothe remoteness of certain production zonesfrom the big selling centres. In the othercountries, it is relatively rare to see fruits rot-ting on the trees for lack of buyers.

4.2. Mali

In Mali, the various historical and economicinfluences have overlapped, making for agreat diversity of situations. Around Bamakoand in the Niger valley situated between theGuinean border and Koulikoro, the firstgrafted orchards had been established fromAmélie mango trees. This variety is still nowvery clearly predominant within a radius of70 km around the capital of Mali.

From the early 1970s, the Bamako elitedeveloped prestige orchards. Locatedwithin a short distance of the city, theseorchards were places of rest and relaxation.Their production was largely intended forconsumption within family and friends, withsales covering all or some of the farmingcosts. The plantations constituted a landimprovement enabling a “letter of alloca-tion” to be drawn up, an important steptowards obtaining a land deed. At this timeplanters aimed to have a staggered produc-tion to extend the harvest period as muchas possible. Although it was good form tohave a few big-fruited varieties, the taste ofthe mangos intended for self-consumptionwas more important than their appearance.However, to satisfy varied tastes and extendproduction, most of these orchards weregenuine collections.

Later on, market requirements led to areduction in the range of varieties, and todayplanters are keener to make their planta-tions profitable than 30 years ago. However,many family orchards are still planted by citydwellers whose main business is non-agri-cultural. Alongside the country folk’s orchards,these city dwellers’ orchards have made agreat contribution to the fruit supply to thecapital of Mali, and they have supplied a not-insignificant part of the export mangos. Sub-sequently, purely Kent and Keitt orchardswere set up within a radius of under 30 kmfrom the capital.

Around Sikasso, the composition of cer-tain orchards also bears witness to the threeplantation phases. The Floridian mangoorchards coexist alongside Amélie orchards,but they comprise a much narrower rangeof varieties than in the Bamako region.These varieties are primarily those whichwere used for export when this was by air;however, the Brooks variety has been addedto them. Furthermore, in southern Sikassoin particular, there are big Kent and Keittorchards, fruit from which is intended for airor sea export.

The Bougouni-Yanfolila zone has beensubject to many influences: the extensionphase of Amélie mango trees, the establish-ment of a behaviour study orchard at Yan-folila, the proximity of Guinea and Côted’Ivoire. The Guinean influence is reflected



in the abundance of the Miami Late and Keittvarieties around Yanfolila, and between thiscity and the border. Near Côte d’Ivoire, bigKent and Keitt orchards were set up. Thesevarieties are also found close to Bougouni.There are all types of orchards in Yanfolila.

According to a survey by the regional del-egation of the Agency for the promotion ofthe agricultural industries (Aprofa Mali) inSikasso, mentioned by the Agro-enterprisecentre (CAE) [15] : “The evaluation study ofthe agricultural potential of the mangoindustry in the 3rd Region estimates thequantity available for export in the Sikassoregion for the three main varieties at48,181 t, of which 22,233 t for Amélie (46%);14,076 t for Kent (29.2%); 11,872 t for Keitt(24.6%). Assuming that only 30% can beused for export, taking into account theexport standards and the degree of enclave-ment of the production region, Mali’s exportpotential for the 3rd Region may be esti-mated at 14,454 t”2. Mangos not exportedfrom the 3rd Region are shipped to Bamako,to the northern cities (Ségou, Mopti, Gao)or to the neighbouring countries (Senegal,Mauritania).

4.3. Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, the main mango treeorchards are situated in the South-West ofthe country, in Banfora and Orodara in par-ticular. The extension phase of the Amélievariety continued for much longer than inneighbouring countries. Orchards of variedFloridian cultivars were planted in greatmoderation. However, recent years haveseen a great extension of Kent and Keitt withthe plantation of new orchards or top graft-ing.

4.4. Côte d’Ivoire

In northern Côte d’Ivoire, the first orchardsconsisted of Amélie. Then orchards of var-

ious Floridian varieties developed, and theirfruit was used for air export from 1980 to1992. The demand for Kent and Keitt, whichgrew alongside the growth in sea exports,was reflected in the establishment of neworchards comprising these two varietiesexclusively, and top grafting of the oldorchards with Kent and Keitt. Besides theexport varieties (Kent, Keitt, Amélie, Palmerand some Zill), only the Brooks trees andmiscellaneous cultivars kept by the plantersfor family consumption are present. How-ever, over 95% of grafted trees belong to theexport varieties.

In the rainy zones, the fruit is notexported because of the plant health riskscaused by humidity. The fruit intended forthe local market is fairly diverse, but thereare no big orchards as in the dry zones.

4.5. Senegal

In Senegal, the first products of grafted vari-eties, Amélie and Divine, were intended tosupply the urban markets, especially Dakar.The extension of the grafted mangos toNiayes was primarily influenced by the lim-ited collections introduced through variousorganisations or private planters. However,in recent years, large areas have beenplanted with Kent and Keitt to satisfyexports or the national market. The trees aresprayed, at least in their juvenile phase,which leads to high production costs. Thedemand of the big urban market that the cityof Dakar represents contributes to drivingprices up. The production of Casamance,comprising various varieties, is little affectedby exports.

4.6. Togo

In Togo, the public corporation Togofruitshad planted a limited collection based ongrafts from Mali. This orchard included theAmélie variety and various Floridian culti-vars, which were distributed to the north ofthe country, but also to the wet zones. Somango tree orchards are found aroundKpalimé. The most frequent varieties arethose originating from the Bamako varietytrial (Zill, Irwin, Smith, and Amélie), to

2 In Mali, the 3rd region contains the citiesof Sikasso, Kadiolo, Bougouni, Yanfolilaand Koutiala. It is bordered to the south byCôte d’Ivoire, to the east by Burkina Fasoand the west by Guinea (Mandiana).


J.-Y. Rey et al.

which a few other should be added, suchas Eldon or Springfels. The quantities proc-essed or exported are low, and the vastmajority of production is intended for thenational or regional market.

In the other countries, production is pri-marily oriented to the national market.

References

[1] Rey J.Y., Diallo T.M., Vannière H., Didier C.,Kéita S., Sangaré M., The mango in French-speaking West Africa, Historical synthesis,Fruits 61 (4) (2006) 281–289 (translation ofarticle published in Fruits 59 (3) (2004) 121–129).

[2] Singh L.B., The mango, Leonard Hill BooksLimited, London, UK, 1960, 439 p.

[3] Degani C., Cohen M., Reuveni O., El-BatsriR., Gazit S., Frequency and characteristics ofzygotic seedlings from polyembryonic mangocultivars, determined using isozymes asgenetic markers, in Bruce Schaffer (Ed.),Fourth int. mango symp., ISHS, Acta Hortic.,No. 341, Wageningen, Netherlands, 1993,pp. 78–85.

[4] Mukherjee S.K., Introduction: botany andimportance, in: Litz R.E. (Ed.), The mango:botany, production and uses, Cab Int., Oxon,UK, 1997, pp. 1–19.

[5] Nagasone H.Y., Paull R.E., Mango, in: Tropi-cal fruits, Cab Int., Oxon, UK, 1998, pp. 208–238.

[6] Popenoe W., Manual of tropical and subtropi-cal fruits excluding the bananas, coconut,pineapple, citrus fruits, olive and fig, HafnerPress, Div. Macmillan Publ. Co., New York,USA, 1920.

[7] Anon., Mangos: guide to mangos in Florida,Campbell R.J. (Ed.), Fairchild Tropical Gar-den, Miami, USA, 1992.

[8] Sébire A., Les plantes utiles du Sénégal, J.B.Baillière et fils, Paris, France, 1899, pp. 79–80.

[9] Ollé D., Baumes R.L., Bayonove C.L., LozanoY.F., Sznaper C., Brillouet J.M., Comparisonof free and glycosidically linked volatile com-ponents from polyembryonnic et monoem-bryonnic mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars,J. Agric. Food Chem. 46 (3) (1998) 1094–1100.

[10] Ollé D., Lozano Y.F., Brillouet J.M., Isolationand characterisation of soluble polysaccha-rides and insolubles cell wall material of thepulp from four mango (Mangifera indica L.)cultivars, J. Agric. Food Chem. 44 (1996)2658–2662.

[11] Briot E., Étude de la physiologie postrécoltede la mangue : projet de fin d’études, UTCCompiègne, France, 1999.

[12] Collin M.N., Dalnic R., Comparaison de man-gues en provenance de Côte d’Ivoire, in:Journ. agrumes/mangues, Irfa, Inra, Mont-pellier, France, 1991.

[13] Guépratte M., Physiologie postrécolte de lamangue et conservation sous atmosphèremodifiée, Mém. Éc. Sup. Agric. (ESA), Angers,1998, 44 p.

[14] Bissardon F., Physiologie postrécolte de lamangue et conservation en froid de la man-gue, Mém. ENSIA, Montpellier, France, 1999.

[15] Anon., Études pour la promotion des filièresagro-industrielles. Vol. III. Analyse de l’état desfilières des produits, Centre agro-entreprise(CAE), Étude Yiriwa Conseil, Bamako, Mali,février 2001.



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El mango en África Occidental francófona: variedades y composiciónvarietal de los huertos.

Resumen –– Introducción. El mango es uno de los árboles frutales más extendidos enÁfrica Occidental. Recientemente se publicó una reseña histórica de su introducción en lazona. Como continuación de dicho documento, este análisis está dedicado a las principalesvariedades que se cultivan actualmente y al impacto de los factores históricos y comercialesen la composición varietal de los huertos frutales. Algunas definiciones. Antes de inventa-riar las variedades, se especifican algunos términos que permiten caracterizarlas (precocidad,monoembrionía y poliembrionía) y se proporciona información sobre el origen de las varie-dades floridanas. Las principales variedades cultivadas en África Occidental. Se han dis-tinguido cuatro categorías: las variedades de mangos locales o poliembriónicas (mangots,mango de Camerún), las primeras variedades monoembriónicas multiplicadas por injerto(Amélie, Julie, Sabot, Djibelor, Cuisse Madame), las variedades floridanas, también monoem-briónicas y multiplicadas por injerto, introducidas más tardíamente y utilizadas, bien para laexportación (Kent, Keitt, Palmer, Zill, Valencia, Smith, Irwin, Haden), bien para los mercadosregionales (Brooks, Davis-Haden, Miami Late, Springfels, Beverly, Eldon, Ruby). Se describiócada variedad, así como sus características de cultivo y salidas de mercado. Composición delas plantaciones frutales de mangos injertados. La composición de los huertos de man-gos injertados está influida por la evolución histórica y el destino de la fruta que puede servirpara autoconsumo, venta en el mercado local, nacional o subregional, exportación al mer-cado internacional o para su transformación en unidades artesanales o industriales. Se detallódicha composición en Guinea, Malí, Burkina-Faso, Costa de Marfil, Senegal y Togo.

Africa de habla francesa / Mangífera índica / variedades naturalizadas /características agronómicas / precocidad / frutas / fenotipos

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The mango in French-speaking West Africa: varieties and