PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL AND PROMISING MANGO CULTIVARS UNDER DIFFERENT AGRO­ ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

Twelve commercial and promising mango cultivars were evaluated at three agro­ ecological zones of Bangladesh viz. Akbarpur (AEZ 29), Chapai Nawabgonj (AEZ 11) and Gazipur (AEZ 28) during August 2006 to July 2007 to investigate their regional adaptability and to select location specific superior cultivar (s). Cultivars included in the experiment were Ashwina, BARI Aam-1, Bombai, Deori, F azli, Gopalbhog, Kalia, Khirsapat, Langra, Lata Bombai, Rani Passand and Surjapuri. The plants were transplanted in the field during July, 1993. Tree volume was the maximum (79.78 m') in Khirsapat and the minimum in Lata Bombai (21.92 m'). Among the locations Chapai Nawabgonj was the most favourable for plant growth. BARI Aam-1 and Ashwina were the earliest and the latest in respect of harvesting time. Most of the cultivars were harvested 2-5 and 7-10 days earlier at Akbarpur and Gazipur respectively compared to Chapai Nawabgonj, All the cultivars performed the maximum number of fruits per plant at Chapai Nawabgonj except Deori. Considering the location except Chapai Nawabgonj, the maximum number of fruits per tree was produced by Khirsapat (206) and Langra (182) at Akbarpur while the cultivar Rani Passand (196) at Gazipur. The yield per tree was the maximum in the cultivar Fazli and the minimum in Lata Bombai at all locations. The heaviest fruit was obtained from Fazli at all locations while Gopalbhog (130.2 g) was the lightest at Akbarpur. Ashwina contained the highest percentage of edible portion (80 to 82%) at all locations while Kalia (63%), Deori (65%) and Surjapuri (64%) had the lowest at Akbarpur, Chapai Nawabgonj and Gazipur respectively. Total soluble solid contents were reasonably high in all the varieties at each location (around 20%) except Ashwina, Lata Bombai and Surjapuri which contained around 17% TSS. All the varieties were affected by insects and diseases at different degrees. Lata Bombai was highly susceptible to anthracnose, floral malformation and stem-end-rot at almost all the locations. Other cultivars showed low to medium susceptibility to all these diseases. Incidence of fruit fly and stem borer was low to medium at all locations while fruit weevil infestation was low at Akbarpur and Gazipur and absent at Chapai Nawabgonj. The overall result of the experiment indicated that almost all the cul ti vars showed better performance in respect of tree growth, yield and fruit quality under Chapai Nawabgonj condition. Only Khirsapat exhibited static performance in yield over locations. Good quality mangoes can also be grown successfully under Akbarpur and Gazipur conditions adopting appropriate cultivars like Khirsapat and Langra.