Shipping mangoes

[Oolie]

If necessary, I will send messages to those who do it commercially, but I thought I would open up the question for anyone to answer.

I have a lot of relatives on the east coast, and I would like to ship them fresh fruit. Most fruit has to be picked at soft ripe stage for palatability purposes, so I am focusing on annona and mango in order to have something that will make it that far.

As I understand it, many mangoes need to be picked at full ripeness in order to taste reasonably good, so I'm trying to avoid planting those types if possible.

I'm also trying to plant a variety of flavors.

So far I'm looking at these.

In the spice category I'm looking at Kesar, but I'm considering Ugly Betty and Super Julie.
In the citrus category I'm looking at Mallika, but I'm considering Dusheri and Lemon Zest.
In the indochinese category I'm looking at Maha Chanok and Sweet Tart, but I'm considering CAC/COC.
In the coconut category, I think only M4 has confirmed to be pickable at shipping stage, but I'm considering any possibilities.
In the resin category, I'm looking at Val-Carrie, but considering STMaui and Ugly Betty again.
In the classic category, I'm looking at Aloha and Carla but considering Southern Blush.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I'm trying to select mainly firmer fleshed mangoes for this, I hear that E4 really is too soft to ship, and there are others I will consider adding if they are good shippers like Southern Blush or perhaps Ugly Betty.

[simon_grow]

Hey Oolie,

Mangos don’t have to be picked at full ripeness in the sense that they don’t have to be soft and ripe and ready to eat at that exact moment. For shipping Mangos, you pick them mature green but it really depends a lot on the variety. Many varieties will benefit from being picked mature green but with some color development vs fully green. You really have to know the characteristics of each variety of mango and the characteristics can change with the location where the fruit is grown.

When grown in SoCal, Sweet Tart has been one of the best shipping Mangos. You can harvest it mature green with a yellowish blush on the shoulder and it will ripen fine. When you harvest the fruit, make sure the fruit has filled in shoulders and the nose of the mango should have filled in as well.

Some varieties of mango, Carrie for example, does not ship well if harvested too ripe. If they get bumped around during shipping, you can have a sticky mess by the time it reaches its destination.

If packaged properly with excellent cushioning and shipped next day, many varieties of Mangos can be shipped without issues.

Sweet Tart also has a long window period of optimal eating. You can harvest it from the tree and ripen it indoors and consume it when it is just barely giving to pressure and it will be very Tart. If you let this mango ripen some more and it will be a mixture of sweet and tart, this is my favorite stage. At this stage, the mango has a firm, dense flesh and perfect sugar acid balance. If you let a Sweet Tart ripen fully, there will be significantly less tart and the sweetness will be very intense.

Mature green can be interpreted in many ways and you really have to know your Mangos and harvest each specific variety over multiple years in order to get a good grasp of optimal stage to harvest the fruit. Some fruit that are growing inside the canopy of a tree and is shaded from the sun may not show any coloring at the mature green stage. Some fruit that is from a colorful variety and is growing in full sun may color up before being mature enough to harvest for optimal flavor.

Simon

[simon_grow]

As for Cherimoyas, you will want to harvest them once they have sized up. Cherimoya trees often have fruit on the same tree ripen at different times. This is because the flowers that form in early Spring start opening with the new growth on the tree and the flowers must be hand pollinated with most varieties. The first flowers that open up, and get pollinated, will likely be the first fruit that ripens.

As the season progresses, the tree produces more and more blooms which get hand pollinated and this produces a progression of fruit. I have multigraft Cherimoya trees with early, mid and late season fruit which significantly extends my harvest.

As with Mangos, you have to know each particular variety of Cherimoya in order to have an idea of when the fruit is ripe. In general, I have found that the larger fruiting varieties like Dr White, ripens much later in the season compared to smaller fruiting varieties. Once you have harvest a particular variety over multiple seasons, you will have an idea about what time of year the fruit generally ripens and and at what size the fruit reaches at maturity.

When Cherimoyas are ripe, you will notice that they will stop getting larger and the color of their skin will turn from a green color to a light green color, sometimes with a bit of yellow. For many varieties, when the Cherimoya is ripe, there will be an air pocket around the seed that expands and as the fruit gets more and more mature, the air pocket expands to the point that you can hear a rattle when you shake the fruit.

You want to ship the fruit in a firm stage. The stem should not easily pull from the fruit unless you are shipping next day. When the stem pulls easily from the fruit, the Cherimoya is near full ripeness and by the time your relatives receive the fruit, it can be over ripe.

Simon

[pineislander]

Beware US postal service shipping. I lost $100 worth of fruit this season in one box. I shipped early Monday morning and expected delivery by Wednesday, but the box "got lost" and spent the following weekend somewhere, then it was one week and the sugar apples rotted. They may tell you two day shipping but you might consider next day shipping.

[Oolie]

Thank you very much for the plethora of tips Simon, I will apply them once the trees begin to bear fruit.

Thank you for the warning Pineislander, I imagine that was quite the loss, probably not covered under insurance either due to being perishable. Even when precautions are taken, there are no guarantees, my luck can be that way often.

As for the mango variety selection, I'm focusing on varieties with firm(er) flesh, and decent to long shelf lives in order to have ones I can count on being edible, even if there is some form of delay. I am taking this precaution not only for reasons of the loss of packages along the way, but where much of my family is (Upstate New York, and Boston). Mail delays due to blizzard conditions are something I should anticipate when many of the Mangoes and Cherimoyas are ripening in SoCal. That's why I want to pick varieties known to be good shippers, if I can remove variables, I would like to. Varieties which can be picked mature green without loss of quality, or which can tolerate rough handling are the ideal. Long shelf life (Edible at various stages) is a bonus.

That said, I'm trying to exclude varieties who have too firm a flesh to be a "sucking" mango, yet too much fiber to be fiberless (looking at you Pickering).

So far I'm looking at:
Classic: Edgar, Carla, Aloha.
Resin: Sunrise, possibly White Pirie.
Coconut: M4, So-Cal ORO.
Parsnip: Sweet Tart, Maha.
Citrus: (I'd like to have a few of these) LZ, PPK, Mallika, still considering Dusheri and maybe Orange Essence.
Spice: (Probably the most important category) Kesar, Alphonse, Val-Carrie, Angie, considering Ugly Betty.
Unique: ST Maui, Guava.
Others I would like to add if they ship well, and not exactly sure where they lie flavor-wise: Phoenix, Amy, Yi Xuan, and Seacrest.

It's a big list, but I'd like to have options as there's more than a few people I'd like to ship the fruit to.

[skhan]

From my experience and using Alex's flavor distinctions.
This is what i think would be best for shipping

Classic: Manilita, Dupree, Glenn, Kent, Edward
Indian-Alphonso - Edgar, Kesar, Angie, Neelam
Indian-West Indian Resin -  36-8, Guava
Indo Chinese Resin - Cac, Zinc, Maha, Sweet Tart
Thai - NDM or most since they can be picked when hard easily
Coconut - Pickering or E-4 (not going to get much coconut from Pickering if it's picked too early)
Citrus - Lemon Zest, Orange Sherbet (don't think any in this option we be great)