Mango Blog

Borneo Expedition

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:07:41 GMT

Field Tour 20th Hawaii International Tropical Fruit Grower

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:45:26 GMT

Hawaii International Fruit Grower Conference

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:09:52 GMT

There were about 200 in attendance at this meeting and Dr. Diane Ragone, the Director of Breadfruit Institute started with an informative presentation about breadfruit. She is working with chefs to develop potential value-added products. Breadfruit has a good potential as flour for human and animal consumption and perhaps for baby food. They are working on different projects for to alleviate world hunger using breadfruit as a food crop. They started a project in Honduras using their first...

Kaua'i, “The Garden Isle”

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:02:42 GMT

Kaua'i is the oldest island in the Hawaiian chain and some of the areas in the Na Pali Coast remain accessible only by boat, helicopter or on foot. From the plane the scenery was magnificent, a vast sea of green. We rented a car and looked around Wailua, an old city with houses growing mango trees in their backyard. We arrived to the hotel to get ready for my presentation. Today is the Hawaiian Tropical Fruit Grower Conference and I am the keynote speaker. Farmers, horticulturists and...

The Cacao Farm and Waimea

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:54:25 GMT

When I travel, I use my expeditions to learn what is happening with tropical fruits all over the word. Cacao has long been an interest to me. Fairchild's International Chocolate Festival is gaining more popularity each year, and the Fruit Program is becoming more involved in this event. We visited The Hawaiian Chocolate Company in Kalilua Kona to learn more about cacao. They offer tours every day and they are part of the program for cruise ships when they make port in the island. Cacao,...

Mangos in Punaluu

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:39:44 GMT

Before going to Kona, we stopped by the fruit market in Hilo. Ginger flowers and all manner of greens dominated the market. They had some of the local mangos which I was happy to find, along with fresh rambutans and mangostens. It was a nice place for breads and local jellies. We purchased some breads, fruits, green papaya salad and coffee for our trip. We drove over the mountains along the south coast and up slopes of the island's volcano. This lovely formation is part of the Hawaii...

Plant it Hawaii

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 08:07:59 GMT

Our first appointment of the day was to visit Bob Hamilton the owner of Plant it Hawaii located in Kurtistown a few miles from Hilo. Bob and his wife have been farming in this area since 1979. Their main crops are rambutan, longan and lychee. At the moment, the Hamiltons are busy picking their rambutans. Rambutan is a colorful crop and delicious fruit. I have good memories of Guatemala and Thailand where I had the opportunity to take pictures of and to pick rambutans ready to eat. Bob has...

The Big Island

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:11:52 GMT

Today we flew to the Big Island and stayed in Hilo. Hilo gets between 130 and 300 inches of rain a year depending on your elevation, and I can already feel the humidity. This is definitely not a good place to grow mangos. This island has a different character than Oahu. The mountains in Oahu raise suddenly from the ocean; but on the Big Island the volcanoes raise smoothly and you don't even feel the change of altitude. Hilo is a historic city, with old buildings and numerous historical...

Wild Mangos and Jackfruit

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 06:37:22 GMT

Today we visited Frankie Sekia's Nursery. Frankie is a long-time friend of Fairchild Garden. Frankie's nursery has developed a reputation for unusual products and exotic fruit. Frankie and his lovely wife live in Waimanalo. His place is located in a delightful location surrounded by high vertical cliffs that appear to melt into the clouds. Frankie is a third-generation Hawaiian resident of pure Japanese heritage. He attended the University of Hawaii and graduated as a Business...

The Manini Mango and the Botanic Garden

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:19:08 GMT

Ho`omaluhia Botanical Garden the "peaceful refuge" Strolling or driving through these lush four hundred acres in windward Oahu, I see that they are very well named as the "peaceful refuge". It has been open since 1982 and has many of the old trees in the city. Ho'omaluhia is one of the five parks of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens. At Honolulu Botanical Garden I was looking for the oldest mango trees on the island. The exact date of the first introduction of mangos into...

Visiting the Urban Garden and Poamoho Mango Farm

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:12:10 GMT

Today I am hoping to have my first Hawaiian mango. We are driving to meet Frank Suiso who will take us to the mango growers in Oahu. The sea breezes blow across Oahu Island making our drive quite comfortable. Some of the views remind me of Tairona Island in Colombia in the Pacific Ocean. In fact, I felt particularly at home among the coconuts lining the coast. We have our first stop at the Urban Garden Center that has 30 acres in the middle of Pearl City. Jayme Grzebik speaks to us about the...

Getting Started Hawaiian Style

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:52:22 GMT

We arrived on Oahu Island at night, rented a car and drove about 20 minutes to the east to Leila's Werner's sister's homee. Leila is a native Hawaiian and a member of the Fairchild Tropical Fruit program. I was tired from the long flight, but enjoyed what little of the Hawaiian night I saw. In the morning, Katy, Leila's sister, made a breakfast of papaya, pineapple and guava jelly - from her backyard. I also noticed she had many mango chutney jars on the counter. She said...

For The Love Of Mangos - Hawaii

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:27:11 GMT

At first bite I knew it was something special, this little mango with red and yellow highlights. The flavor was off the charts, a combination of berry and spice and the deep sweetness of the tropical sun. I learned that it was from Hawaii, selected decades ago upon the lava shores of our 50th state. And now I travel to Hawaii to learn first hand about the island and its people, the agriculture and hopefully their passion for the mango. I travel with Leila Wailani Werner, our own native Hawaiian,...

Ten Days in China

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:56:30 GMT

For The Love of mangos - Africa

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:47:09 GMT

I had long dreamed of visiting southern Africa and the opportunity came to "seize the moment" and travel half-way around the world to observe another country's horticultural production. I was game to go and full of enthusiasm to learn about mango production in this part of the world. Thanks to our relationship with Westfalia and their kind invite I was now going to see their operations. My flight started from Miami to Johannesburg, stopping in Madrid for transit. In Madrid I was stuck for 2 days...

For the Love of Mangos-Ecuador

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:01:07 GMT

Curator Noris Ledesma travels to Ecuador to delve into the world of chocolate and mango along the North coast of South America. Follow her adventure through the country of emerald greens and ocean blue. She will immerse herself into the culture and business of cacao, learning the secrets of this ancient crop of the Maya and passing on the adventure to the Fairchild family. Few crops have such a rich cultural heritage or possess such commercial potential. Cacao farming of today is innovative,...

For The Love of Mangos Peru, 2009

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:30:45 GMT

The Curator Noris Ledesma once again delves into the world of mangos with an ambitious agenda of mango hunting and adventure to capture the harsh realities that the Peruvian mango is confronting. The Peruvian mango is an export fruit and Peru is the second country to bring mangos to the United States. Their mangos arrive around Thanksgiving, when other countries' mangos are not ripe. Peru produces many Florida mangos, including Edward' for the local market where the prices...

For The Love of Mangos-Philippines, Thailand and Japan, 2009

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:14:02 GMT

Curator Noris Ledesma delves once again into the world of the mango with an ambitious agenda of adventures to capture the true spirit of the Asian mango and her people. In the Philippines she will take in the celebration of the mango in Guimaras to capture the 'Carabao' in her full glory. It is then on to Thailand for a photographic tour of the Bangkok floating market, Talad Thai and the orchards of South Thailand - her lens recording the subtle shapes and expressions of the mango and her...

For The Love of Mangos India, 2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 21:22:52 GMT

Fairchild Tropical Fruit Program ventures back to the ancestral home of the mango - India. Our mango team Dr. Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma the Curators of Tropical Fruit went to the monsoonal plains in search of the secrets of the king of tropical fruit. For 2 weeks in May, 'Alphonso', 'Kesar', and 'Dusehri' will become daily fare, treasured for their sweet, complexity of fruitiness and Indian spice. Nowhere on earth is the mango more cherished, or more integral to the people and their...