![]() The men use a long pole with a hook to reach the fruits. The plantations are a bit older and the trees very high. Each year, before the start of the harvest, he travels to Burkina Faso where he organises several teams who, in a cooperation with the small farming enterprises, harvest the mangos on the various plantations. However, the harvest and organisation is arranged by Desiré, the mango representative of the growers’ cooperative Ivoire Organics in Korhogo, on the Ivory Coast. Our Africa expert Kuemkwong Siemefo visited the area in February and discussed the forthcoming season. The projectable sales represent an annual additional income for the farmers. Initiated by BioTropic, the cooperative has been exporting its Amelie mango variety since 2011. “Early mangoes should always be a luxury item.The mango trees in Burkina Faso are cultivated by around 20 small scale farmers from the Ranch du Koba cooperative. While this has created a niche market for growers, will these tricks and techniques make winter mangoes, which attract up to $70 a tray in high-end fruit shops, more accessible in the future?Įlliott hopes not. “So instead of one flower, you’ve created a hundred flowers early.” “If you think the tree’s about to push a flower there are ways people have worked out how to do that,” says Elliott. It boils down to lots of trial and error and learning to read the trees. “He had carcasses of barramundi hanging on every second tree, and it looked like Deliverance but the pollination was great.” “I visited one of a grower at one stage who worked on a fishing trawler,” he says. Armed with this information, Elliott says growers experiment to find what works best for them, with some rather creative outcomes. Researchers have discovered that flies tended to be the most prolific pollinators of mango trees, followed by various bee species, beetles, ants, butterflies and moths. Then there are the all-important pollinators that come and do their job once the trees have flowered. Sometimes insecticides are used if there’s an outbreak of pests, especially when buds start opening. Insects are another critical variable – non-beneficial and beneficial. it looked like Deliverance but the pollination was great Tim Elliott, Red Rich Fruits In addition to mechanical pruning this involves chemicals that target the roots and keep the size of the trees more manageable so they don’t grow too fast, too high or too vigorously. Another tactic Skliros mentions is bonsaiing the trees. Some farmers use cincturing (cutting a ring around the tree’s trunk) to promote flowering, although that can affect the tree’s health, according to Elliott. “Now all these things can play a part in creating an early season or later season fruit,” he says. Unable to send their roots out, growers have more control over timing of nutrient delivery with fertilisers, and thus flowering. Surprisingly, Elliott says, some trees produce prolifically in rocky regions. A tree must have enough energy to flower, hold the flowers and carry them through to full, quality fruit. Other variables include location – particularly within regions with variable microclimates – along with water, biosecurity and the tree’s health. Tim Elliott from Red Rich Fruits says timing of fertilisers is also influenced by moon cycles, atmospheric pressure and temperature fluxes, which can make a difference between flowering or flushing into leaf. It’s complex, but Skliros does reveal that certain fertilisers are used to lower nitrogen and lift calcium levels, and when cooler nights slip in, potassium nitrate can be sprayed to encourage flowering. You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time.” Just about everything you do can affect the outcome, but timing of fertilisers and pruning are critical, he adds. ![]() “Many of the growers have what they believe is their own secret recipe but it’s just the variants of what they do around the world. “Eleven herbs and spices are the secret recipe and there’s a lot involved in it.” Digging a bit deeper, it’s not a complete mystery. “It’s a bit like KFC, they say,” explains Skliros. How does he do it, when mangoes normally produce fruit in late September – in a good year? Photograph: Leo SklirosĪdded to that, he grows Kensington Pride mangoes – highly coveted in Australia for their sweet, juicy flesh, but temperamental to grow. ![]() Leo Skliros poses with his mango harvest. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |