Queensland’s $100 million mango industry has significant potential for domestic and export market development. However, in order to survive and prosper against increasing international competition, Queensland’s mango industry needs to make continual improvements in its productivity and product differentiation.
To improve the efficiency of breeding and allow faster development of new varieties, the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation’s Mango Genomics Initiative is developing molecular markers to investigate the genetics of mango flavour, skin colour, disease resistance and the links between preferred fruit flavour and the flavour components in mango. The genomics initiative is also investigating tree architecture genes and molecular markers to improve production and harvesting through dwarf trees.
To position mangoes as a health food for the future, the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation is also studying the effects of both purified components and whole fruit extracts on cell-based laboratory assays that are indicative of human health properties such as protection against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Knowledge of their presence can be used to promote the nutritional value of current varieties as well as providing for the selection of varieties with enhanced levels of these compounds.
The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation anticipates breeding a suite of different mango varieties, a red-fleshed super mango for the wellbeing market; a new, more productive Kensington Pride for the domestic market; next generation mangoes that can fit within the Calypso™ brand; and novel products for niche export markets.