Mini Mango Seed

[JoeP450]

I bought a mango from the local grocery store and as always I just had to open up the seed. Upon opening I found a undeveloped or miniature seed. I have seen this before and usually just throw them away but this time I decided to germinate the seed. I am wondering if maybe from this stunted seed that maybe it will sprout a stunted tree which would be good to graft onto. Below you can see just how small the seed was when in comparison to the PLU# sticker!



_JoeP450

[fruitlovers]

Hi Joe, seems like an aborted seed. Even if it sprouted you wouldn't want to use a stunted rootstock to graft onto. You want to use as vigorous of a rootstock as possible. So bigger seeds are usually better.
Oscar

[HMHausman]

I see these quite frequently in certain mango cultivars.  I have planted them out and they either don't germinate or they produce small, unhealthy plants that haven't been of sufficient vigor to use for root stock.

Harry

[Pancrazio]

This is interesting. In the 2 fruits i grew here i found two of those "aborted" seeds. I assumed that they were unable to sprout, and trow them away. I also assumed that they were generated from low night temperatures, but apparently they aren't related to that?
I wonder if they influence the growt of the fruit someohow.

[HMHausman]

I have found these aborted seeds in SE Asian cultivars with very thin seed casings.  Maha Chanok actually produces many such aborted seeds....that is why my Maha Chanok seedling project was of even more interest to me than otherwise.  It was tough to get seedlings up to any size and vigor which such anemic seeds.....the three I planted out in one hole are now flowering and will hopefully fruit for the second year..

Harry

[fruitlovers]

If you often pop open those mango seed hulls sometimes you're in for a big surprise, like with this one, not small or aborted, but very interesting looking:

Oscar

[JoeP450]

Hi Joe, seems like an aborted seed. Even if it sprouted you wouldn't want to use a stunted rootstock to graft onto. You want to use as vigorous of a rootstock as possible. So bigger seeds are usually better.
Oscar

I am hypothesizing that a stunted seed would therefore produce stunted growth and therefore possibly have a dwarfing affect on the grafted scion... How did dwarfing rootstock come about anyway?

_JoeP450

[fruitlovers]

Hi Joe, seems like an aborted seed. Even if it sprouted you wouldn't want to use a stunted rootstock to graft onto. You want to use as vigorous of a rootstock as possible. So bigger seeds are usually better.
Oscar

I am hypothesizing that a stunted seed would therefore produce stunted growth and therefore possibly have a dwarfing affect on the grafted scion... How did dwarfing rootstock come about anyway?

_JoeP450

Maybe you are right in some very few cases, but i think that in a vast majority of cases what will happen if you graft onto a stunted seed rootstock is that the whole plant will die. Some dwarfs are genetic mutations, but mutations happen very rarely in nature.
If we make a rough comparison with human children, there is a very big difference between a small very sickly child and a child that is  dwarf, that may be quite healthy.
Oscar

[MangoFang]

That is a gorgeously unique seed, Oscar...truly....hope it sprouts a
great and wonderful Bean Stalk...



FaNG

[Herman]

If you often pop open those mango seed hulls sometimes you're in for a big surprise, like with this one, not small or aborted, but very interesting looking:

Oscar

Wow!  It's an Easter Island head statue with a mohawk!