{"id":384655,"date":"2023-02-03T06:06:23","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T20:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=384655"},"modified":"2023-02-03T06:06:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T20:06:23","slug":"uog-looks-to-facilitate-mango-research-improve-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/uog-looks-to-facilitate-mango-research-improve-production\/","title":{"rendered":"UOG looks to facilitate mango research, improve production"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The mango orchard at the University of Guam\u2019s Ija Research & Education Center can be a source of plant materials for researchers and a source of bud wood for local farmers and nurserymen, which would allow them to graft and grow trees with desirable fruit qualities. (UNIVERSITY OF GUAM)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A 30-year-old mango tree orchard on the University of Guam\u2019s Ija Research & Education Center and two newly published guidebooks are ready for people who want to help improve mango production in Guam.<\/p>\n

Despite the fruit\u2019s popularity among residents and farmers\u2019 interest in growing more of it, mango production in the last agricultural census was reported from only 700 of the more than 200,000 mango trees on island.<\/p>\n

Yields are often erratic and unsuccessful, constrained by climate, disease, and a lack of varieties that do well in these conditions.<\/p>\n

Planted throughout the 1990s, the Ija orchard now contains 29 varieties of mango that include some of the most successful commercial varieties in the world, such as Haden and Carabao.<\/p>\n

With the orchard recently trimmed to a more accessible height, it will be easier to utilize for research, providing knowledge about mango varieties that are best adapted to Guam\u2019s climate and are resistant to or tolerant of fungal diseases.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the orchard can improve the availability on island of the more desirable varieties of mangoes. \u201cMost mangoes on Guam are \u2018boonie dogs,\u2019\u201d said Bob Bevacqua, a horticulturist at UOG who authored the new guidebooks. \u201cThey\u2019re mixed heritage\u2014uncertain DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n

In about a year\u2019s time after its new growth, the orchard can be a source of budwood for farmers and nurserymen. Grafting budwood from a desired variety onto a rootstock of another tree will produce true-to-type mangoes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From left, Kaya Taitano, research assistant; Adrian Ares, interim associate director; Bob Bevacqua, horticulturist; and Jonae Sayama, graduate research assistant, all with the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center at the University of Guam. (UNIVERSITY OF GUAM)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Procuring budwood locally would also be cheaper and safer than importing materials, which must undergo strict inspection as they commonly have pests and plant diseases, according to state entomologist Chris Rosario with the Biosecurity Division of the Guam Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n

Published this month, the Mango Varieties at Ija Research & Education Center<\/em> booklet, authored by Bevacqua, Kaya Taitano, and Adrian Ares, details the seed types, characteristics, and principal disease threat of each mango at the research station.<\/p>\n

The second publication, Mango Production Guide for Guam<\/em>, authored by Bevacqua, Jonae Sayama, and Ares, outlines the best practices for producing mangoes sustainably.<\/p>\n

Both guides, along with a Mango Tree Care on Guam<\/em> publication from 2016, are available for download at www.uog.edu\/wptrc\/technical-reports<\/a>. Hard copies are available from the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center by calling (671) 735-2060. (UOG)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 30-year-old mango tree orchard on the University of Guam\u2019s Ija Research & Education Center…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":384659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[51,445],"class_list":["post-384655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-guam","tag-uog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}