Postharvest assessment of mangoes to inform market access

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) is inviting Territory mango growers to participate in the upcoming trial on comparative assessment of mango post-harvest attributes to support market access decision making.

DAF NT is exploring options to improve market access of NT mango fruits.

DAF NT are investigating the distribution of specific phenotypic attributes such as firmness, colour, brix, and dry matter-traits known to influence fruit fly activity.

This trial will assess NT mango varieties against a set of known post-harvest attributes to look for naturally occurring phenotypic clusters. It will assess whether there are varieties of similar enough attributes to be considered under a single representative variety.

It is important to note that market access decisions are made by the State or Territory Government the fruit is being sent to. However, scientifically valid information may be provided to further the conversation between States and Territories, and to support future market access requests and research proposals. This is where DAF NT and YOU can help.

Overview of the trial

The trial is for the 2025 NT mango season. DAF will assess 100 first-class fruit per variety for appropriate characteristics. The fruit will be evaluated within 48 hours of harvest, and the results will be used to group varieties by similar characteristics. This information will be shared between State and Territory agencies involved in market access agreements.

Who can participate and what is required

DAF is calling on commercial NT mango growers to be part of this trial. If you are growing a mango variety other than KP, Calypso, Honey Gold, and R2E2, and you would like it to be involved in the study please contact us at:

Email: plant.industries@nt.gov.au; jashan.kaur@nt.gov.au

Phone: 08 8973 9737 or 0476 012 923

To be involved, you will need to:

• Provide 100 first-class fruit per variety as an in-kind contribution (free of charge) to the Plant Industries team.
• Agree to DAF NT sharing basic post-harvest information between Agencies.
• Agree that the assessment results may be made publicly available to support industry benefit.

In return, we will provide you with a post-harvest report summarising the outcomes of the study.

For more information email plant.industries@nt.gov.au or Jashan.kaur@nt.gov.au