Screening of mango (Mangifera indica) genotypes for the incidence of lenticel browning-a new postharvest problem

Several postharvest problems affect the sensory quality of mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruits which significantly deteriorates the market value of fruits. Among several such problems, lenticel browning (LB) has been reported recently, which affects face value of fruits. Hence, an attempt was made to screen 20 indigenous (Amrapali, Alphonso, Banglora, Bhaduran, Bombay Green, Dushehari, Gulablchas Green, Langra, Mallilca, Neelum, Pusa Arunima, Pusa Pitamber, Pusa Lalima, Pusa Pratibha, Pusa Shrestha, Rataul, Ratna, H-3-2, H-8-11, H-12-1) and 10 exotic (Edward, Eldon, Extrema, Sensation, Irwin, Iturba, Rosari, St. Alexendrina, Tommy Atkins and Zill) varieties/hybrids grown at IARI, New Delhi, to observe the severity of lenticel browning among various varieties/hybrids. Fruits were harvested at full maturity and stored at ambient conditions for 10 days. At the end of 10(th) day, healthy as well as brown lenticels were counted per square centimetre with the help of a magnifying lens. Our results revealed that among indigenous varieties, Langra had shown the maximum incidence of lenticels browning (100%), followed by Dushehari (52.8%), and among exotic varieties, Sensation had shown the highest (35.9%) incidence of lenticel browning followed by Eldon (28.3%). Interestingly, some hybrids developed by IARI, New Delhi such as H-3-2 (4.3%), H-8-11 (4.5%) Pusa Pratibha (4.8%), Pusa Lalima (5.2%), PusaArunima (5.7%), Pusa Shrestha (6.1%) and varieties such as Bhaduran (5.1%) and Alphonso (5.3%) were found to be less prone to LB as they exhibited <10% incidence of LB. This study revealed that few varieties like Langra and Dushehari were highly susceptible and few hybrids were highly resistant to LB, thus have good scope in International export market.