Morphological and Physical Diversity of Mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) of Local Varieties Found in Noun and Lekié Localities (Cameroon)

Abstract

Cameroon has an amazing variety of local mangoes whose potential is poorly exploited. The aim of this study was to characterise the physical and morphological diversity of mangoes in two agro-ecological regions with high potential for mango production. This experiment was conducted between February and July 2021 using ten local mango varieties. These were 'German', 'Bamoun', 'Lady' and 'American' mangoes found in Noun and 'Papaya', 'Dshang Dshang 1', 'Dshang Dshang 2', 'Kousa Dog', 'Garoua' and 'Ladies' mangoes identified in Lekié. Ten ripe fruits of each variety were harvested on three different trees in the same area. A total of 23 morphological and physical parameters were measured. Multivariate analysis based on PCA showed four groups of varieties in decreasing order of importance: group 2 (Papaya, German and American mangoes), group 4 (Garoua, Dame Lékie, Kousa Dog), group 3 (Dshang Dshang 2, Dame Noun, Dshang Dshang 1) and group 1 (Bamoun). Group 2 varieties had good quality for pulp mass to stone mass ratio (5.58±1), size index (10.6±3.22), sphericity index (0.97±0.35), fruit volume (391.5) and lateral fruit diameter (11.05±0.89). However, varieties in group 1 (12.87±3.08) and group 3 (10.7±2.27) have a high proportion of kernels in the fruit and a high kernel density, respectively. There is a wide diversity among the varieties examined. This provides valuable information of the different stakeholders in the mango value chain, i.e., the industry, nurserymen and consumers.