By: Collin Anderson
CLARKSVILLE, Ark (UATV) – The Ozark Mango™ was released by the Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program. This is the seventh nectarine introduced by the program. It was first selected in the program in 1997, but was not released until recently due to its close similarity to Bradley, another nectarine released by the program.
“We were very hesitant to release it for many years,” said Margaret Worthington, director of the fruit breeding program. “But we’ve never had the heart to discard it, and that’s because, in my opinion, it is the tastiest thing we have on this farm.”
The Ozark Mango™ is a yellow-fleshed, standard-acid nectarine with firm, non-melting flesh. It is intended for fresh market use, but also has good storage potential, being able to be stored for 14 to 21 days after harvest. Flavor ratings for it were higher than similar cultivars from the program and has been rated as one of the best tasting fruits on the farm for years.
“It’s very sweet so it’s consistently high in sugar,” said Worthington, “and it has these nice aromatics in the background that I think could be kind of tropical and reminiscent of a fruit like a mango.”
Creating a new fruit takes years and even decades, and the Ozark Mango™ is no exception. It was in trials for 13 years before it was perfected. Over that time, it had an average Brix of 15, meaning about 15 percent of the nectarine is sugar.
“In my opinion it’s one who has the best flavor on the farm. It’s one that me and my grad students always talk about how good it is.”
In addition to being one of the best tasting, it is also one of the best looking. Approximately 65 percent of the Ozark Mango™ is covered in a blushed color, and extremely resilient to bacterial spot pressure.
“We get a lot of bacterial spot pressure here at Fruit Research Station, this is one that is very tolerant of symptoms on the leaves, and I never see cracking on the fruit.”
Peak harvest time is around July 1, which is similar to Bradley, and a week earlier than Bowden and Amoore Sweet, two other nectarine variants created at the Fruit Research Station. The Ozark Mango™ is specifically tailored for growers in the Southeast of Mid-South of the United States.
Worthington said, “It’s too good not to share.”