Valencia Pride

Valencia Pride is widely admired for its striking appearance, excellent production, and superb eating qualities — a combination that has earned it a devoted following among growers and connoisseurs alike. In 2009, Valencia Pride was honoured as a "Curator's Choice" selection at the Fairchild Mango Festival in recognition of its outstanding quality and flavour.

The variety traces its origin to the orchards of Mrs. Charles Brown in Florida, USA, where the original tree was planted as a seedling in 1937 and identified as a distinct, named variety in 1941. Arising as a seedling of Haden, Valencia Pride went on to become a beloved backyard mango across Florida over the decades that followed. A pedigree analysis carried out in 2005 confirmed what was long suspected — that Haden was indeed the parent of Valencia Pride.

The fruits are large and wide, oblong-sigmoid in shape, and weigh between 500 and 900 grams. Before ripening, they display an attractive blend of pinkish-red on the shoulders, yellow at the top, and green towards the base; once ripe, the colour deepens into a beautiful mix of pinkish-red and golden yellow. The pulp is firm, light yellow and almost entirely fibreless, with a classic mango flavour carried by a sweet, honey-like aroma. The level of sweetness (TSS: up to 21 brix) can vary noticeably from year to year, depending largely on the rainfall received during ripening. Juicy and rich on the palate, Valencia Pride is principally a table variety, though it also makes excellent juices. 

Valencia Pride is a regular bearer that produces one crop a year, and it is a late-season mango — ripening from July through to the middle of August. The shelf life is 5 to 8 days after ripening. The tree is fast-growing with a vertical, large, and open canopy, but it responds well to training and periodic pruning, which makes its height easy to manage in commercial orchards as well as in home plantings. The stone is monoembryonic, so the variety can only be propagated true-to-type through grafting.

The cultivar has very good resistance to anthracnose, and continues to fruit abundantly even in humid growing regions — a notable advantage that has supported its long success in Florida and in similar climates. 

ColourPinkish-red & yellowAverage Weight500 gramsSweetnessTSS up to 21 BrixPulp Recovery75%Shelf Life5-8 daysSeed TypeMonoembryonicBearingRegular