The 'Kent' mango is a named

mango cultivar The following is a list of some prominent mango cultivars. Worldwide, hundreds of mango cultivars are known, with over 1000 varieties in India. Most commercial cultivars belong to '' Mangifera indica'', while a few commercial varieties grown in S ...

that originated in south Florida.

History

The original tree, a seedling of the

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

cultivar started in September 1932, was planted on January 1, 1933 on the property of Leith D. Kent in

Coconut Grove, Florida Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

. Kent was reportedly a cross between

and Haden, which a 2005 pedigree analysis supported. The tree first bore fruit in 1938. It was selected, named, and described in 1945. Kent quickly rose in popularity in Florida for its excellent taste and lack of fiber. The tree was susceptible to

anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

, however, and the fruit's poor shelf life limited its commercial scale in Florida. Kent is grown on a limited commercial scale outside of the United States, particularly in Latin America. Today it is still widely grown as a nursery stock tree for home growing in Florida, where it remains popular. Kent is a parent of several other Florida mangoes, including

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

and possibly

Gold Nugget :''"Gold nugget" may also refer to the catfish Baryancistrus xanthellus or the mango cultivar Gold Nugget.'' A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placers. Nuggets ...

and Jakarta. Kent mango fruit

Kent trees are planted in the collections of the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

's germplasm repository in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida, and the Miami–Dade

Fruit and Spice Park The Fruit & Spice Park, formally known as the Preston B. Bird/Mary Heinlein Fruit & Spice Park, is a 37-acre park located in the heart of Redland, Florida, and is the only botanical garden of its kind in the United States. This park is operated ...

, also in Homestead. The original tree still stands in Coconut Grove. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Kent is the main imported

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

, with imports coming mainly from South America and Africa.

Description

The tree is a vigorous grower, with a compact canopy and an upright growth habit. It can get quite tall (in excess of ) if allowed to do so. Kent trees generally produce a large crop. The fruit typically weighs , is of oval shape, and has a rich, sweet flavor. It will usually turn a greenish-yellow color with some red blush as it matures. The seed is

monoembryonic Monoembryony is the emergence of one and only one seedling from a seed. A seed giving two or more seedlings is polyembryonic Polyembryony is the phenomenon of two or more embryos developing from a single fertilized egg. Due to the embryos resulting ...

and will have a tendency to sprout in the fruit if left on the tree too long when ripening. The fruit typically matures from July to August in Florida, sometimes into September.

References

External links

description of Kent, Dr. Jonathan Crane, University of Florida
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent (Mango) Mango cultivars