Mangifera nicobarica – an endemic wild mango species of Nicobar

Passion fruit is a tropical vine, native to South America and being cultivated commerc Mangifera nicobarica is a rare, endemic species of South Nicobar region having better adaptation and potential use in crop improvement. The species has been reported closely allied to M. andamanica and M. quadrifida but differs from them for leaf and floral characteristics. The trees of the species are tall, reaching about 20 m height with spreading canopy habit. The branches of the tree are reddish brown with oblong or oblanceolate leaves. Flowers are white or yellowish in colour and fruits are medium sized and the fruit weight ranges from 80 to 150g. The fruit peel is greenish in colour at unripe stage and turns to yellow or purplish on ripening. The fruit pulp is aromatic, yellow or deep yellow in colour and fibrous. The taste of the fruit is sweet and consumed by the Nicobari communities of the Island. This species has been collected from Great Nicobar through joint exploration by ICAR-CIARI and ICAR-NBPGR and is conserved at ICAR-CIARI with IC No 630971. The trees of this endemic wild mango species is sporadically seen in the region and hence more efforts are needed to conserve them in various field gene banks for further utilization to realize the potential use for crop improvement in mango for traits such as aroma, taste, climate resilience etc as the species is adaptable to the fragile Island ecosystems.

Benefit:M. nicobarica can be a potential rootstock and as source of desirable traits for breeding commercial mango varieties. Hence this genetic resource should be conserved.

Source : Contact person with Name, Designation e-mail and phone no: Dr. K. Abirami, Senior Scientist, Dr. I. Jaisankar, Senior Scientist and Dr. Augustine B. Jerard, Principal Scientist Email: K.abirami@icar.gov.in, I.jaisankar@icar.gov.in, augustinejerard.b@icar.gov.in Phone: 9933278631, 9474274410, 9447064463