Mangoes originate in India where it is considered the national fruit and is believed to have been domesticated as far back as the 5th century BCE. The mango in India today however is quite different from the mango one can find in the global market; the fruit is smaller and has different coloration and a stronger odour and taste. This fruit is much closer to the wild mango which was first cultivated, before it was cross bred and developed into the popular varieties grown around the world today. Only at the beginning of the 19th century did mango make its way to the West - to North America, where well renowned varieties such as Tommy, Keitt, Kent, and Hayden were created to fit the local climate and consumer preferences.
Since then mango has spread to several other growing regions around the world and has gained considerable popularity among consumers in the west. Overall some 40 million tons of mangoes are marketed annually, most of it from the Americas; though not the leader in quantity, perhaps the leader in production quality is Israel. Mango was first brought to Israel in the 1920s and shortly after researchers began developing new varieties to fit the warm climate. The Maya was the first Israeli variety and following its resounding success, came popular developments like the Shelly, Omer, Noa, Tali, Orly, and Tango. Overall, Israel holds patents on eight commercial varieties of mangoes, some of which aren’t even grown in Israel but are rather exported to other markets. This sort of export has become quite common due to the success of these varieties both in producing high yields in varying climates, as well as having strong demand from consumers in several global markets. In fact, in recent years Israeli mango growers have been able to produce the highest yield per hectare in the world, averaging around 30 to 40 tons per hectare in comparison with the global average of roughly 10 tons per hectare.
Half of the mango grown in Israel is exported, primarily to Europe. The recent trend has been to grow more fruit for export, which has led researchers to continue working on improving the varieties that match export requirements and consumer demands in the target markets. “First of all we are interested in creating fruits which are unique to Israel to give Israeli growers an advantage abroad with superior varieties that aren’t available anywhere else” said Yuval Cohen, the leading botanist at the Vulcani institute which heads agricultural research in Israel. “We are looking to develop fruits that are attractive outwardly and are the right size, with good durability and a long season” he added “These are high demands for the fruit but we have been able to achieve that. In doing so, you could say we introduced the new mango to the European market, and we hope to continue to innovate.”
