Effect of Different Altitudes on Morpho-Physiological Attributes Associated with Mango Quality

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a widely cultivated fruit in tropical and subtropical areas at altitudes ranging from 100 to 1500 m above sea level (masl). However, little is known about the effects of altering altitudes on the morpho-physiological traits determining the commercial value of mango. Therefore, we systematically investigated a commercial mango cultivar at eight altitudes ranging from 680 to 1400 masl to check the environmental impact on morpho-physiological attributes and volatile compounds using analysis of variance, principal component analysis, clustering, and correlation. We observed an increase in fruit weight and size from 680 to 1000 masl elevation and a gradual decrease at higher altitudes above 1000 msl. In contrast, quality parameters, including total soluble solids and total sugar, decreased with the increase in altitude, while the total acid increased with the increase in altitude. Moreover, we characterized the dried fruit, pericarp, and sarcocarp for aromatic compounds and identified 110 volatile compounds. The accumulation pattern of the volatiles suggested a considerable influence of environmental factors associated with altering altitudes. However, there was no clear trend in the volatile accumulation at different altitudes. We further determined the ten most frequently occurring volatiles at different altitudes and tissues. For instance, Alpha-Guaiene was only identified at 1000–1215 masl altitudes in dried fruit, while Beta-Ocimene showed the highest accumulation at 900 masl in dried fruit and pericarp. Together, our study provides clues on the impact of the altitude on mango fruit yield and quality attributes, which will guide future agronomic practices.

Effects of temperature gradient on functional fruit traits: an elevation-for-temperature approach

“…Nonetheless, existing data on mostly cultivated species also does not reveal a systematic pattern of increase in VOC emission with temperature [ 23 , 50 , 85 ]. This indicates that any effect of temperature on the total emission of VOCs may be subtle and possibly limited to the responses each compound class; therefore, the changes on the chemical profile of species probably depend on the specific compounds that constitute it.…”

“…Regarding wild populations, previous research has focused on other plant traits (height, leaf area, seed-mass) and how they are affected by different environmental drivers (nitrogen deposition, precipitation) [ 46 , 47 ] and on the geographic distribution of traits based on environmental variables [ 48 ]. Whereas studies on fruit traits have had solely an anthropogenic interest, in the sense they have only looked into cultivated species to evaluate quality parameters according to consumer and market preferences [ 17 , 49 , 50 ]. Regarding species interactions significant more attention has been given to the question of how temperature rise might affect flower traits and downstream flower-pollinators networks, indicating worrying trends which may or may not be similar to seed-dispersal networks [ 51 , 52 ].…”

Studies on the Seasonal Variation of Major Elements During Fruit Development Stages and Evaluation of Post-Harvest Changes in Mango Germplasm

“…The effects of rising temperatures and CO2 on the morpho-physiological traits of mangos, such as fruit quality, flowering, photosynthesis, and vegetative growth. Mango cultivars grown at higher altitudes must therefore be evaluated for quality and productivity (Zhang et al 2022). Potassium carbonate was used to record the heaviest fruits (412.0) (T3).…”

Postharvest quality and ripening behaviour of un-explored genotypes of Himalayan plain mango diversity

“…The rich genetic diversity found within the mango species opens up exciting opportunities for harnessing genomic resources to enhance desirable attributes [ 6 ]. It's worth noting that mango fruits exhibit an astonishing range of diversity, with each genotype possessing its distinct flavour and unique qualities [ 7 ]. As mangoes ripen during ambient storage, they undergo a series of sequential transformations encompassing changes in physical characteristics, physiological processes, nutritional content, biochemical composition, enzyme activities, colouration, flavour, and aroma [ 8 , 9 ].…”