1. The document summarizes the floral biology of mango, including its classification, inflorescence, flower structure, pollination, selfing and crossing techniques. 2. Mango flowers contain both male and hermaphrodite flowers arranged in a panicle inflorescence. Pollination is entomophilous, relying on insects like house flies. 3. Traditional techniques for selfing and crossing involve bagging panicles and manually removing stamens or brushing pollen, while caging uses insect-proof cages with grafted plants to allow natural pollination.

1. FLORAL BIOLOGY OF MANGO

2. CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Angiospermae
Class : Dicotyledons
Sub class : Rosidae
Order : Sapindales
Family : Anacardiaceae
Genus : Mangifera
Species : indica

3. Scientific Name: Mangifera indica L.
Common Names: Mamidi, Am
Chromosome number : 2n = 2x = 40
The origin of mango is Indo – Burma region.
In India Mango is acclaimed as “King of fruits”.

4. INFLORESCENCE
Inflorescence is a large and terminal panicle.
The branching of the inflorescence is usually tertiary, rarely quaternary, but the
ultimate branching is always cymose.
The mango inflorescence or panicle bears mainly two types of flowers – male and
hermaphrodite.
The panicle bear 500-6000 flowers of which 1-70% are bisexual, remaining are male
depending on the cultivar and temperature during its development. The percentage of
perfect flowers varies between 0.74 per cent in Rumani, 16.41 to 55.7 per cent in Neelum
and up to 69.8 per cent in Langra.

5. FLOWER
Flower :
Flowers are small decicuous, scented and yellowish green in colour.
Calyx:
Calyx comprises of 4-5 free and deciduous sepals, concave in shape and
yellowish green.
Corolla :
Comprises of 4-5 deciduous and spreading petals.
These are thinly pubescent/ glabrous.
Calyx contains 3-5 ridges on ventral side.
In Mangifera indica a thick cushion is developed between the petals and the
stamens.

6. FLOWER

8. ANDROECIUM AND GYNOECIUM
Androecium :
The androecium consists of stamens and staminodes, altogether five in
number, of which usually one, or rarely two, are fertile and the rest are sterile.
All the stamens are inserted on the inner margin of the disc.
The colour of the anther is pink, which turns purple at the time of shedding.
Gynoecium :
Monocarpellary (only one carpel present).
It is placed on the disc.
The ovule is anatropous and pendulous, and shows one-sided growth.
The style arises from the edge of the ovary and ends in a simple stigma.

9. FRUIT
The fruit is a more or less compressed, fleshy drupe.
It varies considerably in size, shape, colour, presence of fibre, flavour, taste and several
other characters.
The most characteristic feature of the mango fruit is the formation of a small conical
projection developing laterally at the proximal end of the fruit, known as the beak.
 It may be quite prominent in some, less so in others, while in some varieties it is
represented merely by a dot.
A wide sinus is always present just above this beak.
The pistillate area of the fruit located
near the base of the beak is known as the nak.

10. ANTHESIS AND POLLINATION
Mango is a cross pollinated crop. The mode of pollination is entomophily,
nectar is present to attract the insects.
The flowering duration is usually of short i.e. 2 to 3 weeks.
Flower starts opening early in the morning from 4-7 AM and maximum
flowers open between 9.30-10.30 AM and completes at 11.AM
Dehiscence of anthers takes place at 11.30 AM and it continues up to 3.45 PM
The pollen grains are oval, or triangular or oblong.
Stigma becomes receptive even 18 hours before flower opening and remains
even upto 5 days after anthesis.

11. SELFING, EMASCULATION AND CROSSING
TECHNIQUES
Selfing :
The complete panicle of unopened buds is bagged. Occasional jerkings are done to the
bags containing flowers so as to ensure pollination.
Emasculation and Crossing techniques :
Since a large number of male and perfect flowers are borne in a mango panicle, it
requires a special crossing technique. The panicle should be bagged with a muslin bag
(60 cm x 30 cm) fully stretched and fixed with two rings and a rod made of spliced
bamboo. A piece of thick iron wire can also be made into a good frame for stretching the
muslin bag over the panicle.
Staminate flowers of the selected panicle to be used as female parent should be removed
daily before dehiscence. Panicles of the variety selected as male parent should also be
bagged before their flowers begin to open. Freshly dehisced male flowers should be
carried in a small petridish lined with a filter paper and covered with another petridish to
protect the flower from contamination with foreign pollen carried by insects.

12. CAGING TECHNIQUE
Perfect flowers should be emasculated early in the morning before dehisced. Freshly
dehisced anther of the male parent should gently be brushed against the stigma which
should then be examined under lens to see if pollen grains have adhered to it.
As the pollination of flowers in any one panicle is carried over a number of days, only
the pollinated flowers should be allowed to remain on the panicle. It has been found
advantageous to keep the panicles enclosed in bags till the fruits set and develop slightly.
Caging technique :
The conventional method of pollination is time consuming, cost intensive and inefficient
because of tallness and difficult to handle trees and poor fruit set.
‘Caging technique’ for crossing, developed at IARI following the discovery of self
incompatibility in Dashehari, Langra, Chausa and Bombay Green, involves planting of
grafted plants of the self incompatible varieties along with those of male parents enclosed
in an insect proof cage and allowing pollination by freshly rared house flies and thus
doing away with the tedious hand pollination.