Influence of Pre-Harvest Calcium Sprays on Shelf Life and Firmness of Mango cv. Banganapalli

Abstract

Pre-harvest sprays of calcium salts are widely recommended to growers as a way of keeping fruit firmer and extending shelf life, and mango, with its short postharvest life and demanding export markets, is an obvious candidate. This narrative review asks how strong the case is for Banganapalli, a major commercial cultivar of southern India. It draws on published work on calcium transport into fruit, on the binding of calcium in the cell wall, on foliar and fruit uptake of nutrient salts, and on calcium-related disorders in apple, tomato, cherry and peach, and it reports no new data. The biological argument is coherent: calcium cross-links pectin, so a better-supplied wall should resist softening. The practical argument is weaker. Calcium reaches fruit slowly and mostly early in development, uptake through the skin is partial, and reported responses depend on cultivar, season, formulation and timing. We could not identify cultivar-specific evidence for Banganapalli that we could cite with confidence, and the review says so plainly. The risk of leaf and fruit injury, and of visible residue, also has to be weighed against any gain. The review concludes that modest benefits are plausible but unproven for this cultivar, and it sets out the measurements, replication and reporting that a convincing orchard trial would need.