Irwin is a smooth, sweet, and flavoursome mango, which is virtually fibreless. The flesh is an attractive yellow colour, melting, juicy, aromatic and of excellent eating quality, often with an apple/mango flavour. The skin is smooth, orange to pink in colour and small, white lenticels. It develops an eye-catching dark red blush as the fruit ripens. Irwin mango is sometimes called the apple mango, due to its flavour.
Irwin is Florida’s leading local market cultivar, and is very popular in Taiwan.
Origin: Bred in Florida in the late 1940’s, Irwin is a seedling of a cross between Haden and Lippens, planted by F.D. Irwin of Miami in 1939. The first production was in 1945 and the variety was named and described in 1949.
Grown in: Irwin is grown on a commercial scale in a number of countries, including Japan, Taiwan and Australia, but it is grown in most mango regions of Central America and Southern Africa.
Harvest & Availability: Irwin is a popular cultivar with growers, renowned for its consistent and heavy production, though it is commercially limited for European markets due to difficulty in balance of maturity and sea-freight requirements (if picked before full maturity, it ripens with a mottled appearance). Fruit ripen from June to July in Florida. For the UK market, availability is as follows:
April to May: from Costa Rica
