The Philippines, one of the top producers of the sweet and luscious fruit, considers mangoes to be a basic crop. But did you know that a Filipino scientist actually devised the mango flowering process, which is essential for the fruit’s growth and development?
Dr. Ramon C. Barba, a prominent horticultural and scientist from the Philippines, is the creator of mango blossoming. Barba, who was born in Manila in 1929, studied agriculture before earning a PhD in plant physiology from the University of California, Davis.
Barba started studying mango trees and their flowering cycles in the 1960s. He observed that the mangoes will flower and bear fruit earlier than usual if a potassium nitrate solution was applied to the tree’s branches. The Philippine mango industry was transformed by this procedure, which is now referred to as “induced flowering,” and it helped boost the nation’s mango output.
Barba made important contributions to the study of plant physiology in addition to his work on mango flowering. He focused on enhancing the propagation of coconut trees and created methods for promoting flowering in other fruit trees, including avocado and lanzones.
Barba received a great deal of acclaim and accolades throughout his career for his groundbreaking work in the fields of horticulture and plant physiology. He was recognized one of the National Scientists of the Philippines and received the Philippine Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Other important inventions, besides mango blossoming, were created in the Philippines. Here are five items that were created in the nation: Yo-yos have been around since ancient Greece, but Pedro Flores, a Filipino, is credited with creating the contemporary version of the toy in the early 1900s. The lunar rover, a remote-controlled vehicle used for investigating the moon’s surface, was created in the 1970s by a group of Filipino engineers under the direction of Eduardo San Juan. 3. Erythromycin – Abelardo Aguilar, a Filipino scientist, discovered erythromycin, a widely used antibiotic, in the 1940s. 4. The Karaoke – Japanese-Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario created the Karaoke, a well-liked form of entertainment where people sing along to recorded music, in the 1970s. The world’s first 3D microchip was created in 2014 by a group of Filipino researchers from the Mapua Institute of Technology, marking a significant development in the fields of electronics and technology.
In conclusion, Dr. Ramon C. Barba, a scientist and horticultural from the Philippines who transformed the Philippine mango industry, is credited as the discovery of mango flowering. He has gained notoriety in the field of plant physiology thanks to his work on induced blooming, which has increased the nation’s mango production. Other important inventions, including mango blossoming, were created in the Philippines, demonstrating the nation’s contributions to science and technology.