Mangoes are one of the world’s most prized tropical fruits, mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, and due to its unique flavour it’s a product popular all around the globe. However, mango cultivation is very challenging: in fact, mango trees bear fruits only one month in an entire year.
Today for our “Patents world” section, we would like to present a video developed by the WIPO (World International Property Organization) presenting the man who developed a chemical solution to induce early flowering in mangos: the Philippine Dr. Ramon Barba.
During his research activities, Dr. Barba found out that the application of potassium nitrate made the mango flower. “The process was very simple. You just get one kilo of potassium nitrate, put it in 100 litres of water, spray it on the plant once – and within a week you can see the buds forming. In two weeks the buds are already forming into flowers. It was… unprecedented. I have never seen any reaction so spectacular.”, he said.
The use of potassium nitrate to induce flowering in mango plants has revolutionized the Philippine mango industry, and the effect is so significant that affect also other countries.
Dr. Ramon Barba is quite a personality, and so modest that he almost forgot to protect his invention. He contacted the Philippine Patent Office and with the help of an IP lawyer applied for a patent.
His story reminds us the importance of patents, and how it’s crucial to protect the inventor rights with the consult of a professional agency of Industrial Property, such as Protectia Patents and Trademarks.
