Good now we have Alphonsos fruiting in Aruba and California, I look forward to a review on these, my container NDM still has not pushed out anything, but the terminals are swelling, I hope it flowers.
Alphonso is supposed to be pretty bad, when grown in Florida, right? I have a good feeling about Aruba-grown though, since it's so dry down here. I'm hoping our prolonged drought season will mimic the conditions that the tree likes back in its homeland. Have you ever had a Dominican-grown Alphonso?
No I have not tried any Alphonso yet. I do not think Alphonso is considered bad, in Fla. my take is that it just not as good as one grown in India, and is just mediocre in Florida. I have two potted Alphonso, and I am going to give one away to a friend that lives in a semi arid area of the country, I think they will do best there.
I did some research on climatic in the area where Alphonso grows best in India, for the most part , these trees get almost no rain all through the fruit development stage, fruit is picked just before the monsoon rains, I think some flood irrigation is used in the driest areas/periods. so its like no rain until after harvest, then you have rain almost non stop for 3 months.
I have high expectations on the Kesar, here in the city where we get more rain, I think it will do better, I will try and do an approach graft, so i can give one to a friend on the north coast where generally mangoes for plantations are not recommended, because it rains a lot, and soils are heavier.
Anyway, good luck on all your trees, for the Alphonso you may just want to give them only enough water, this may be the "trick" for better flavor.
