MangosteenGarcinia mangostana L

Origin and Distribution

• Its origin is in Southeast Asia, probably the Malay Archipelago.

• It can now be found in Northern Australia, Brazil, Burma, Central America, Hawaii, Southern India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and other tropical countries.

Folklore

• In the mangosteen’s native lands and abroad it is often referred to as ‘The Queen of Fruits’.

• According to folklore, this nickname comes from Queen Victoria’s strong liking for the mangosteen and the idea that she would readily reward anyone who could bring the fruit to her in England.

• The task proved nearly impossible, however, since the fruit and its seed are perishable and sensitive to dry and cold weather.

Introduction

• Mangosteen is one of the most widely recognized tropical fruits and has universal appeal because of its quality in color, shape and flavor. Demand often exceeds supply.

• The fruit is 2 - 3 cm in diameter. A thick reddish-purple rind covers the aril or pulp which is segmented like that of an orange. The white, moist, soft and juicy flesh is sweet and aromatic, has high sugar content, but is low in vitamins and minerals.

• It is usually eaten fresh, but can be stored successfully for short periods of time. It is also canned, frozen, or made into juice, preserves, and syrup.

Plant

• Unknown in the wild state, mangosteen is found only as a cultivated female tree (male trees appear non-existent) and may be a ‘fortuitous’ hybrid between two sister species (G. malaccensis and G. hombroniana).

• It is an apomictic polyploid* that is morphologically intermediate between these two species. Moreover, genetic variation is minimal and no cultivars have been reported. Hence, it has been suggested that all trees may have come from a single clone.

*Definition of apomictic polyploid plant

• A plant with more than 2 sets (diploid) of the basic chromosome number (haploid) where reproduction in which sexual organs play their role but no fertilization takes place and the resulting seed is vegetatively produced.

Contd/-

• Because mangosteen is difficult to propagate vegetatively, most trees are produced from seeds which remain viable for only a few days.

• Grown primarily in back yards and gardens, these attractive pyramidal evergreen trees grow to a height of 6 - 25 meters.

Contd/-

• Some effort has been made to establish commercial orchards, however, obstacles yet to be overcome include (a) difficulties in propagation, (b) the slow growth period, (c) problems in harvesting, (d)and yield.

• Mangosteen requires a wet lowland tropical climate and moist well-drained soil high in organic matter.

Tree

The mangosteen tree is very slow-growing, erect, with a pyramidal crown; has dark-brown or nearly black, flaking bark, the inner bark containing much yellow, gummy, bitter latex which is often noticed leaking from the tree.

Leaves

• The evergreen, opposite, short-stalked leaves are ovate-oblong or elliptic, leathery and thick, dark-green, slightly glossy above, yellowish-green and dull beneath; 9 - 25 cm long, 4.5 - 10 cm wide, with conspicuous, pale midrib.

• New leaves are rosy in colour.

Oblong-ovate or elliptical leaves

Flowers

• Flowers, 4 - 5 cm wide and fleshy, may be male or hermaphrodite (possess both male and female reproductive structures) on the same tree.

• The male flowers are in clusters of 3 - 9 at the branch tips; there are 4 sepals and 4 ovate, thick, fleshy petals, green with red spots on the outside, yellowish-red inside, and many stamens though the aborted anthers bear no pollen.

• The hermaphrodite flowers are borne terminally, either singly or in pairs on shoot tips and mature branches

• their petals may be yellowish-green edged with red or mostly red, and are quickly shed.

• mangosteen usually flowers only once annually, however, flowering can occur twice annually following a dry period.

Flowers (Hermaphrodite)

Consists of 4 petals, white or cream colored, 4 sepals an one ovary, globose with one thick stigma

Pollination Requirements

• Mangosteen is an obligate apomict in which reproduction is entirely asexual (parthenogenesis).

• There are no verified reports of pollen production, floral visitors which might be viewed as pollinators, nor of nectar production in mangosteen

Fruit

• The sub-globose fruit, which is 4 – 8 cm in diameter ripens a dark reddish-violet to purple color. It may be smooth or marked with brownish scars.

The fruit is capped by the prominent calyx (composed of sepals) at the stem end and with 4 to 8 triangular, flat remnants of the stigma in a rosette at the apex

• The calyces and stigmatic lobes persist until the fruit is ripe, and the number of stigmatic lobes is indicative of the number of internal segments, which are easily separated from the rind.

• The thick tough pericarp or rind exudes a bitter yellowish resin, especially when unripe.

The rind is 6 - 10 mm thick,

red in cross-section,

purplish-white on the inside.

It contains bitter yellow latex and

a purple, staining juice.

There are 4 to 8 triangular

segments of snow-white, juicy,

soft flesh (actually the arils of

the seeds).

(Aril – fleshy outer covering of the

seed in addition to the seed coat)

• The juicy pulp has a sweet-tart flavor; usually only 1 to 3 of the segments contain seeds, which are oblong bodies of about 2.5 cm long and 0.8 cm in diameter.

• The flesh is slightly acid and mild to distinctly acid in flavor and is acclaimed as exquisitely luscious and delicious.

Pulp

Climate and Soil

• Classified as an ultra-tropical plant, the mangosteen tree is very hard to cultivate in areas far from the tropics. For proper growth the tree needs high humidity, plentiful precipitation and a consistent temperature between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Many efforts have been made to cultivate the mangosteen outside of the tropical range with very little success. The stubborn seed does not keep more than a few days when taken out of a very humid habitat, and even if the seed is transported safely (usually in peat moss), the tree will not grow unless the climate is strictly maintained.

• It cannot tolerate temperatures below 5º C, nor above 38º C. Nursery seedlings are killed at 7.5º C.

• It is limited in Malaysia to elevations below 1450 m. Attempts to establish it north of 200 latitude have all failed.

• It ordinarily requires high atmospheric humidity and an annual rainfall of at least 127 cm, and no long periods of drought

Soil

• The tree is not adapted to limestone and does best in deep, rich organic soil, especially sandy loam or laterite.

• Sandy alluvial soils are unsuitable and sand low in humus contributes to low yields.

• The tree needs good drainage and the water table ought to be about 1.8 m below ground level.

• The mangosteen must be sheltered from strong winds and salt spray, as well as saline soil or water.

Propagation

• Mangosteen is difficult to propagate vegetatively, most trees are produced from seeds which remain viable for only a few days.

• The juvenile phase may last 5 to 15 years depending on growing conditions

• Technically, the so-called "seeds" are not true seeds but adventitious embryos, or hypocotyl tubercles, inasmuch as there has been no sexual fertilization.

• When growth begins, a shoot emerges from one end of the seed and a root from the other end. But this root is short-lived and is replaced by roots which develop at the base of the shoot.

• The process of reproduction being vegetative, there is naturally little variation in the resulting trees and their fruits. Some of the seeds are polyembryonic, producing more than one shoot.

• The individual nucellar embryos can be separated, if desired, before planting.

• Inasmuch as the percentage of germination is directly related to the weight of the seed, only plump, fully developed seeds should be chosen for planting. Even these will lose viability in 5 days after removal from the fruit, though they are viable for 3 to 5 weeks in the fruit.

Germination media

• Seeds packed in lightly dampened peat moss, sphagnum moss or coconut fiber in airtight containers have remained viable for 3 months.

• Only 22% germination has been realized in seeds packed in ground charcoal for 15 days.

Seed treatmnet

• Soaking in water for 24 hours expedites and enhances the rate of germination. Generally, sprouting occurs in 20 to 22 days and is complete in 43 days.

Uniform young seedlings raised from seeds

Nursery and Transplanting

Because of the long, delicate taproot and poor lateral root development, transplanting is very difficult. It must not be attempted after the plants reach 60 cm. At that time the depth of the taproot may exceed that height.

• There is greater seedling survival if seeds are planted directly in the nursery row than if first grown in containers and then transplanted to the nursery.

• The nursery soil should be 1 m deep, at least. The young plants take 2 years or more to reach a height of 30 cm, when they can be taken up with a deep ball of earth and set out.

• Fruiting may take place in 7 to 9 years from planting but usually not for 10 or even 20 years.

Cantuman baji (bud grafting)

• Of several vegetative propagation techniques conducted (with the objective of shortening the juvenile stage), bud grafting is the most successful.

• However, the resulting plants from bud grafting are asymmetrical and take a much longer period to grow when compared with those planted from seeds.

• Grafted plants mature late and require constant care in the field.

• The only advantage is these plants could be grown in backyard or house compound as the plants is rather small in size and within reach of picking when harvesting, and pesticide applications.

• The technique involve healthy rootstock 30 – 35 cm tall chosen from raised seedling of about 2 yrs old. At this stage, the stem is about the size of the scion (dahan tunas) with a girth of 1.6 – 2.0 cm.

• (Read up about grafting techniques)

Bud-grafted seedling

Culture

• A spacing of 10 -12 m is recommended. Planting is preferably done at the beginning of the rainy season.

• Pits 1 x l x l.5 m are prepared at least 30 days in advance, enriched with organic matter and topsoil and left to weather.

• The young tree is put in place very carefully so as not to injure the root and given a heavy watering.

• Partial shading with palm fronds or by other means should be maintained for 3 to 5 years.

Trees grown under shade provided by bamboo baskets

Shaded under coconut fronds (R) and coconut trees (L)

5-yr old plant

• Some of the most fruitful mangosteen trees are growing on the banks of streams, lakes, ponds or canals where the roots are almost constantly wet.

• However, dry weather just before blooming time and during flowering induces a good fruit-set.

• Where a moist planting site is not available, irrigation ditches should be dug to make it possible to maintain an adequate water supply and the trees are irrigated almost daily during the dry season.

• In Malaysia (& Sri Lanka), it is a common practice to spread a mulch of coconut husks or fronds to retain moisture

Drip irrigation

Harvesting

• Ripeness is gauged by the full development of color and slight softening.

• Picking may be done when the fruits are slightly under-ripe but they must be fully mature (developed) or they will not ripen after picking.

• The fruits must be harvested by hand from ladders or by means of a cutting pole and not be allowed to fall.

Keeping Quality (Storage)

• In dry, warm, closed storage, mangosteens can be held 20 to 25 days. Longer periods cause the outer skin to toughen and the rind to become rubbery; later, the rind hardens and becomes difficult to open and the flesh turns dry.

• Ripe mangosteens keep well for 3 to 4 weeks in storage at 5º-13º C. Trials in India have shown that optimum conditions for cold storage are temperatures of 4º- 6º C and relative humidity of 85 to 90%, which maintain quality for 49 days.

• It is recommended that the fruits be wrapped in tissue paper and packed 25-to-the-box in light wooden crates with (excelsior) padding.

Pests and Diseases

• Few pests have been reported. A leaf-eating caterpillar of the moth family Noctuidae, Stictoptera sp has been reported to attack new shoots and young leaves. Heavy infestation will result in complete defoliation.

Leaf miner (Pelombong daun)

• Young seedlings quite frequently attacked by larvae of the citrus moth Phyllocnitis citrella, the adult of which is characterised by its dull yellow wings.

• Larva mines (buries) itself in the tissues underneath the leaf epidermis forming a network of mines.

• Larva mature and pupates causing the leaf to fold.

Phyllocnictis citrella Staint(Fm: Lyontiidae)

Fruit borer (Curculionid beetle)

• Attacked developing fruit by laying eggs on the surface and young larvae that emerged gradually penetrate into the fruit.

• Larvae complete its life cycle together with the ripening fruit. As many as 8 larvae may be present in one fruit.

• causes fruit to drop to the ground and mature larvae ready to pupate in the soil.

Curculio sp (Kumbang)

• the fungus, Zignoella garcineae, gives rise to "canker"– tuberous growths on the branches, causing a fatal dying-back of foliage, branches and eventually the entire tree.

• Infected trees must be destroyed by chopping and burning all the tree parts.

• A major physiological problem called "gamboge" is evidenced by the oozing of yellow resins (latex) onto the outer surface of the fruits and on the branches during periods of heavy and continuous rains.

• The gum which stays within the fruit causes the pulp to harden and gives it a bitter taste.

Gummosis

• Fruit-cracking may occur because of excessive absorption of moisture. In cracked fruits the flesh will be swollen and mushy.

• Bruising caused by the force of storms may be an important factor in both of these abnormalities. Fruits exposed to strong sun may also exude resin or latex.

Food Uses

• To select the best table fruits, choose those with the highest number of stigma lobes at the apex, for these have the highest number of fleshy segments and accordingly the fewest seeds. The numbers always correspond.

• Mangosteens are usually eaten fresh as dessert.

• The fleshy segments are sometimes canned, but they are said to lose their delicate flavor in canning, especially if pasteurized for as much as 10 minutes.

• To make jam, in Malaysia, seedless segments are boiled with an equal amount of sugar and a few cloves for 15 to 20 minutes and then put into glass jars.

• In the Philippines, a preserve is made by simply boiling the segments in brown sugar, and the seeds may be included to enrich the flavor.