The mango season across India is on, and along with it the usual debate about which is the best mango variety to have. We in Telangana claim that the ‘Banganapalli’ and ‘Benishan’ are matchless and nothing else can come even close. My wife and her family from Gujarat say that the best is Ratnagiri or Alphonso. And friends in UP swear by the Daseri.

Mango trees are planted, produced and the fruit enjoyed by people in India, followed by China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Mexico. However, India leads the rest, accounting for 54.2% of the total mangoes produced worldwide. Not only do we consume the most mangoes, but we also export them. Last year, we exported 28,000 MT of mangoes and earned about 48 million dollars!

Dr K.T. Achaya, in his “A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food” (OUP,1998), points out that mango is native to India, grown in the northeastern hills and Myanmar, and was exported to neighbouring counties. Nowadays, mango trees are planted Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal, fruits from each state having their own special tastes.

India has, at the last count, over 1,000 varieties of mangoes, thanks to the ease with which grafting of mango plants occurs. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has three outstanding centres involved in mango research. In addition, the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology in New Delhi has been analysing the genome of the mango plant to understand its basic biology. The paper from there by Dr Nagendra Singh and colleagues, titled in the Indian Journal of the History of Science discusses this aspect. More recently, R. C. Jena and P. K. Chand have detailed the DNA marker-assisted diversity analysis of Indian mango population (Scientific Reports, 2021), suggesting regional variations in the genetics and the resultant size, colour and taste.

Why is mango called the king of fruits? Across the country, apart from the seasonal mango, we find several other seasonal fruits are available and eaten. Some of these are grapes, guava, jackfruit, papaya, orange. Some like bananas grow year-round. Yet, mango is termed the king opf fruits. The reason is that mango not only offers superb taste, but is also the healthiest of fruits, since one mango fruit offers more Vitamins A, B, C, E and K, and metal compounds (Mg, Cu, K), and more antioxidants than the other fruits. While some of these health benefits are available in several other fruits, mango leads the rest since it has the highest levels of vitamins, minerals, and fibre content. Hence the kingdom.

The website from Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. has an interesting article titled: “Mangolicious: the top six health benefits of mango”, which are, first, it improves your gut health; the high fibre content helps fight constipation and bloating. Second, mangoes help control hunger, which could help you stick to your healthy eating goals. Third, the vitamins and antioxidants in mango boost healthy hair and skin. Fourth, the soluble fibres in it help lower cholesterol. Fifth, eating mangoes controls blood pressure, and sixth, the antioxidant mangiferin, present in mango, helps prevent some types of cancer. And the group at the University of Hyderabad also shows that mangiferin reduces ulcers.

Given all these benefits — taste, varieties, availability, and health benefits — let us all go ahead and enjoy eating our favourite mangoes!