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The 1995
World Guinness Book of Record lists Zambales as producer of
the sweetest mango in the world. The province's export
quality carabao mango varieties and strains have made a
significant contribution to the country's mango industry.
Among
them is the Sweet Elena (Mangifera indica) descended from a
108-year old mother tree in a five-hectare mango orchard in
Sabang, Sta. Cruz, Zambales (Sweet Elena nursery) owned by
Penida Moselina Malabed. This mother tree produces 2.4
metric tons of fruit per fruiting season.
The seedlings were evaluated by Ma. Esther Marinas of
the Ramon Magsaysay Technological University in San
Marcelino, Zambales. The study was conducted in three years
in coordination with the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
The National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) of the
Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry
released the new carabao mango strain of Sweet Elena in
October 2002.
IBP-UPLB and a member of NSIC, considers and recommends
Sweet Elena as the best carabao mango strain for
commercialization. It has an average fruit weight of 365-700
grams and sugar content of almost 19 percent Brix.
Aside from its size and juicy sweetness it has other
superior commercial characteristics. Among them are the
absence of fibrous materials in its flesh and thickness of
its pulp.
Sweet Elena was adjudged the sweetest and the biggest
mango in the Philippines for three consecutive years by the
Bureau of Plant Industry.
The nursery in Barangay Bayto, Sta. Cruz, Zambales is
three kilometers from the national highway. |
