Fruit Cracking in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. 'Dashehari'

The mango (Mangifera indica L.) is native to South and Southeast Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics. It is the national fruit of India. In India, harvest and sale of mangoes take place during March-May and the fruits have high economic value in India. Studies were first time conducted on mango fruits to observe the severity of fruit cracking incidence. The stone was exposed in case of longitudinal type cracking and never exposed in star type cracking. The longitudinal cracking was 3.8, 3.4 and 1.7 % and star type cracking was 0.3, 1.8 and 0.02 % during 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. The lesser pulp thickness and higher stone weight in fruit cracked samples may have responsible for fruit cracking. There was a close relationship between fruit cracking and 3 months average weather conditions. The maximum temperature had positive relation with total fruit cracking.