MANILA, Philippines – People have come to associate Guimaras with mangoes, the island’s most important agricultural crop and the country’s export champion.
Guimaras mangoes are internationally-certified as free from mango seed and pulp weevils, making their way into the US and Australian markets through “Area Freedom Certification”.
The Guimaras National Crop Research Development and Production Support Center (GNCRDPSC) is spearheading the development of effective and appropriate pre-production, production, and post-production mango technologies and its wide adoption. One of the center’s most important research functions is on varietal improvement.
To date, 15 National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) – registered mango fruit varieties have been developed.
The NSIC is the office responsible for the approval and registration of crop varieties in the country. Among these include: GES 73’, GES 77’, GES 84’, GES 85’, MMSU Gold, Fresco, Talaban, Sweet Elena, Tanaleon, Guimaras Super (Galila), Efondo, Corcino, Prima, JTA Sweet, and P1-King Rodolfo.
The codex standard for mangoes states that quality mangoes must be clean, free of damage caused by pests, free of any foreign smell and/or taste, firm, fresh in appearance, free of black necrotic stains or trails, free of marked bruising, and sufficiently developed and display satisfactory ripeness.
Although consumers buy fruits on the basis of appearance, subsequent purchases depend upon the consumers’ satisfaction with the flavor (sweetness and acidity).
Guimaras mangoes are of excellent quality and considered as one of the sweetest in the world.
Among the 15 registered strains of Carabao mango, 10 were developed by the Center with Guimaras Super (Galila) having the sweetest taste.
“While many articles have contended that Zambales’ Sweet Elena is the sweetest Carabao mango strain, in terms of degree Brix (°Bx), the Super Galila tops them all,” said Helen Bignayan, a senior agriculturist at GNCRDPSC.
Brix is the sugar content of an aqueous solution. One degree Brix is one gram of sucrose in 100 g of solution and represents the strength of the solution as percentage by mass.
The °Bx is traditionally used in the wine, sugar, carbonated beverage, fruit juice, and honey industries to measure the sugar content.
Acording to Bignayan, Guimaras Super (Galila) has 22.3 °Bx while Zambales’ Sweet Elena only has 18.98 °Bx.
When it comes to fruit weight, a Sweet Elena fruit can weigh as much as 357 g while a Galila fruit weighs heavier with 367 g.
In terms of peel and flesh color, Sweet Elena has orange peel and yellow orange flesh while Galila is bright yellow in the outside and orange in the inside.
The Galila mango has a slightly thicker peel (0.93 mm) compared to Sweet Elena (0.80 mm). The flesh texture of Sweet Elena is soft while that of the Galila is smooth and firm.
The Guimaras Super (Galila) is owned by Cesar Galila in Barangay Poblacion, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras. Mango strains are often named after the surnames of the owners of the mother tree.