Pride of Ilocandia
These are outstanding fruit crop varieties that have made the Ilocos region famous as producer of sweet and luscious fruits.
In recent years, eight outstanding varieties have been identified by the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and subsequently registered with the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).
Take the MMSU Gold. This MMSU-owned mango variety has been adjudged as among the sweetest in the
Declared as the “sweetest of the sweetest” was sweet Elena of Zambales. Other entries included the Talaban and Fresco of Guimaras and Lamao, also of Zambales.
MMSU Gold is a heavy yielder, thin-seeded, very sweet, and has large fruits with full cheeks.
It is one of the eight outstanding fruit crop varieties that have been identified by the MMSU Fruit Crops R&D program and registered with NSIC.
The others are Rambu Avocado, Rabanal Caimito, Prima Mango, Corcino Mango, MMSU-SRO Sweet Jackfruit, Aglibut Sweet Tamarind, and Giant Duhat.
The eight varieties were reported by MMSU’s Gliceria Pascual at the “Technologies to People (T2P) Regional Media Conference” held last Aug. 2 at the Pension House at Barangay Lucap,
Rambu Avocado—owned by Isabelo Ramos of Banna, Ilocos Norte—is purple, tough, and leathery. It has a long shelf life, is very firm and has a flesh with buttery and nutty flavor.
Rabanal Caimito, owned by Sixto Pascua Jr. of
Prima mango, owned by Prima Franco of Sinait town, has a flesh that is yellow orange, juicy, and with a mild aroma.
Owned by Roque Corcino of Piddig town, Corcino Mango has a beautiful red skin, with yellow orange flesh, and very juicy.
The MMSU-SR Sweet Jackfruit has been named after Dr. Santiago R. Obien, former MMSU president and founding director of the Philippine Tobacco Research and Training Center (PTRTC) and the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). Its flesh is yellow orange, very sweet, and with minimal late small seeds.
The Aglibut Sweet Tamarind is a clone of the same variety developed by the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) in Magalang town. It is now considered the sweetest type of tamarind in the
The Giant Duhat, also owned by MMSU, has a sweet flesh and is early-bearing. — Rudy A. Fernandez
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