Mangosteen Fruit / వంగ మామిడి

Description

About Mangosteen

Mangosteen is usually propagated by seedlings. Vegetative propagation is difficult and seedlings are more robust and reach fruiting earlier than vegetative propagated plants.

Mangosteen produces a recalcitrant seed which is not a true seed strictly defined, but rather described as a nucellar asexual embryo. As seed formation involves no sexual fertilization, the seedling is genetically identical to the mother plant. If allowed to dry, a seed dies quickly, but if soaked, seed germination takes between 14 and 21 days when the plant can be kept in a nursery for about 2 years growing in a small pot.

When the trees are approximately 25–30 cm (10–12 in), they are transplanted to the field at a spacing of 20–40 m (66–131 ft).  After planting, the field is mulched in order to control weeds. Transplanting takes place in the rainy season because young trees are likely to be damaged by drought.  Because young trees need shade, intercropping with banana, plantain, rambutan, durian or coconut leaves is effective. Coconut palms are mainly used in areas with a long dry season, as palms also provide shade for mature mangosteen trees. Another advantage of intercropping in mangosteen cultivation is the suppression of weeds.

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*Above specification are indicative only. Actual dimensions may slightly differ