A NEW MANGO HYBRID SHOWS BETTER SHELF LIFE AND FRUIT QUALITY

Mango cultivars are mostly the result of selections from open pollinated chance seedlings of indigenous/introduced germplasm. Development of mango hybrid remains a major focus to boost local industry. Pakistan, being an important mango producing country developed a hybrid 'Faiz Kareem' by making a cross between two commercial mango cultivars i.e., Anwar Ratole X Chaunsa. These studies were carried out to compare the fruit ripening behaviour and quality of this new promising mango hybrid cultivar Faiz Kareem with its parents under ambient (28 +/- 2 degrees C; 65-70% RH) conditions. Mature fruits of three cultivars were harvested randomly from a commercial orchard in district Multan, Punjab. During ripening, data on various physico-chemical characteristics including physiological fruit weight loss percentage, fruit softness, visual peel colour, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, sugars, vitamin C, and total carotenoids were recorded daily up to 7 days. Under ambient conditions all the cultivars took 7 days to ripe however, Faiz Kareem expressed better firmness, which indicates its potential for extended shelf life. Highest levels of total sugars (25.88%), total soluble solids (26.75 degrees Brix) and total carotenoids (69.99 mu g g(-1)) were observed in Chaunsa while lowest in Faiz Kareem (23.71%, 25.54 degrees Brix and 24.60 mu g g(-1), respectively) which can be an advantage for extended storage and for sugar conscious consumers. Taste panel studies also showed clear preference for hybrid cultivar Faiz Kareem followed by Chaunsa and Anwar Ratole. Results of the study will help to understand the potential of Faiz Kareem for domestic and export markets.