Julie (mango)
The 'Julie' mango is a named mango cultivar that was made popular in the Caribbean.
History
The origin of the 'Julie' mango is not known for sure but recent genetic studies show that it was possibly descended from cultivars introduced to the Caribbean through Jamaica from Réunion.;[1] its monoembryonic trait suggests it is descended from the Indian line of mangoes.
'Julie' was recognized for its outstanding flavor and its dwarf growth habit. It was introduced to the United States via south Florida by Lawrence Zill,[2] a nurseryman and horticulturalist known for producing new mango varieties. Several Florida varieties are descended directly or indirectly from 'Julie', including 'Sophie Fry', 'Gary' and 'Carrie'.[3] 'Julie' is also the parent of 'Graham', a variety from Trinidad.
'Julie' proved to be difficult to adapt to the humid climate of Florida, however, and was very susceptible to fungus, making it unsuitable for commercial growing. Nevertheless, the variety was sold as nursery stock for home growing and continues to be done so on a limited scale. It remains a popular variety in the West Indies, where it is often referred to as 'Saint Julian' mango.
'Julie' trees are part of the collections of the USDA's germplasm repository in Miami, Florida,[4][5] the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center[6] in Homestead, Florida, and the Miami-Dade Fruit and Spice Park,[7] also in Homestead.
Description
The fruit is small, averaging less than a pound in weight at maturity. Skin color is green with some crimson blush. The fruit has a somewhat unique shape that is ovate with a distinctive flattened side. The flesh is juicy and not fibrous, with a deep orange color and a very rich flavor. It contains a monoembryonic seed. In Florida the fruit typical ripen from June to July.[8]
The tree is famous for its small dwarfing growth habit. 'Julie' trees are very slow growing and in South Florida is able to maintain a height around 10 ft without pruning. In the Caribbean though, there are Julie mango trees that are over 30 ft tall. The 30th legislature of the United States Virgin Islands passed a resolution declaring the Julie mango as the "Virgin Islands Fruit of Choice,"
External links
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-833622583918523135# Video description of 'Julie' by Dr. Jonathan Crane of the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center
References
- ↑ http://caribfruits.cirad.fr/content/download/936/6182/file/Genetic%20diversity%20of%20Carribbean%20mangoes.pdf
- ↑ http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mango_ars.html
- ↑ http://www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu/academics/faculty/burns/pdf/192-197.pdf
- ↑ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1554798 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1751616 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/crane/pdfs/TREC-Fruit-Collections.pdf
- ↑ http://fruitandspicepark.org/friends/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=29
- ↑ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg216 Table 1
