Now is one of the favourite times of year for many Cayman Islands residents: mango season.
But those who love this delicious fruit might need to get their mangoes while they can because there are signs that this year’s crop will not be a good one.
Prime mango season in the Cayman Islands generally runs from 1 June to 31 July, but Willie Ebanks, one of the Island’s top producers, is concerned about harvest this year.
“Last year there was not a big crop, and this year is following on from that,” Farmer Willie said. “Starting around the beginning of June, we expect to harvest around 4,000 pounds of mangoes per day, but right now we are getting closer to 800.”
For the last two years it has been drier than normal during the traditional dry season and Ebanks believes that may in part be responsible for the smaller harvests. He added, however, that sometimes the droughts can make the mangoes taste even more flavourful and delicious.
“Too much rain works against the flavour of the fruit,” he said.
Farmer Clarence McLaughlin, who farms in Bodden Town, also thinks it will be a poor harvest this year.
“It’s not a good mango season,” he said, pointing to the lack of rain and higher heat in the early part of the years as the reason.
“The mangos are small and now with all this rain we’re getting, they’re going to ripen quicky. Mango season might be over by the end of June this year.”
Poor season or not, several varieties of mangoes started showing up at the markets from late May. Early season varieties have included Madame Francis, Carrie, Julie and Nam Dok.
Other mango varieties likely to show up at the markets this month include like Kent, Valencia, Alphonso, Jakarta and East Indian.
Those are only a small sampling of the different mango varieties available in Cayman, each of which has its own distinct texture and flavour profile.
“I believe there are well over 100 different types of mangoes in Cayman now,” said Zelma Lee Ebanks, who along with her husband Farmer Willie, runs Willie’s Fruits and Juices and the Whistling Duck farm in North Side.
If there’s a saviour to the mango season, it might come from the variety called Dot, which Farmer Willie said is coming in well this year.
“Some varieties don’t bear fruit every year, but the Dot mango has been very consistent and it also carries a five-star rating for colour, flavour, disease resistance and crop yield,” he said.
Although green mangoes will also make it to the market and can been eaten as they are, often in salads, they will eventually ripen if left in a warm place. Farmer Willie, however, prefers to let them ripen on the tree.
“We sell tree-ripened fruit because that is the best,” he said.
“If you pull the mangoes off the tree too early, then they have no taste, so we don’t do that, but by letting them ripen up naturally on the tree means we also lose a lot to bats, woodpeckers and especially parrots.”
Cayman-grown mangos are available in the supermarkets, at roadside farmer stalls and at the Hamlin Stephenson Market at the Cricket Grounds on Huldah Avenue in George Town.
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