Science bears fruit
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Why is the Alphonso mango in short supply this year?
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Sometimes a fruit can be so much more than a hit of sugar and vitamin C. When I moved to my current home in the east end of London, the new neighbourhood was a bit less gentrified than my old one. It's less clean, less green and harder to get a decent cup of coffee. But what it has in cartloads is fruit.
How can durian be used to charge electronic devices?
And not just the boring supermarket ones. Exotic ones that are a taste of home for many South Asian diaspora locals who crave a decent mango. The highly perfumed and much-prized Quezars and Alfonsos are normally in season right now. And the boxes are handed over to me with a conspiratorial smile that says, yeah, I know and you know that these beauties are the good stuff. If I'm ever feeling jaded, I just have to remember that it took me half a lifetime to chance upon these fruits. And that gives me hope that maybe there are lots of similar wonders just around the next corner when I choose to explore. I'm Marnie Chesterton from the BBC World Service. This is Unexpected Elements.
And around the corner in a global sense, I'm joined by this week's panel of science broadcasters. In Singapore, we have Sandy Ong. Hello. Hi, Marnie. Ni hao. And also from Nairobi, Kenya, joining us is Michael Kaloki.
What makes the lemon-shaped planet so unusual?
Hello, Michael. How about it, Manny? So I've talked about mangoes before on this show because although some varieties are available all year round, now is mango season and it is as much a part of my calendar as Christmas and spring. And much as I'm happy to derail any show into the subject of food, This is a science show and not just a science show. We are an international show and tell of unexpected science stories complete with audio archive, a special guest dropping in and it's all inspired by one event in the news. And yes, my mango chat is foreshadowing to this week's news story.
It's peak mango season and normally many of London's high streets are flooded with Alfonso's, known as the king of mangoes. But this year sellers say there are fewer around and prices are up.
The primary cause for the shortage is that the early rains in India have significantly brought down crop yields.
What role do sea cucumbers play in the ocean's ecosystem?
They're not as fibrous as say like the mangoes you get in your supermarket. They're definitely not sour.
It's just like a mango on turbo boost.
If the French have Beaujolais, we've got our mangoes. Yes, I've already noticed its absence in the London markets, but this is the news that India's prized Alfonso mango crop is at its lowest level in decades. So exports are down thanks to the conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted global air routes. But the main thing is industry crop reports that state that adverse weather conditions in parts of India have led to low production of the prized fruit. So in some areas, the crop loss is as staggering as 85 to 95%. And the likely reason behind this is the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has caused hotter than usual weather in April and May, leading the fruits to spoil. And we're going to be talking more about El Nino later on in the show.
But before we get into the stories, turns out we also have a mango farmer on the panel, Michael. Yeah.
Yes, actually. I have a fruit farm and I grow mangoes among some of the fruits that I grow. I should say I don't have the Alfonso variety.
What are the consequences of the crayfish invasion in Africa?
We have other varieties, but I have seen a difference in the harvest period. Change has been subtle compared to India, but the difference is still having effects.
Okay, thanks for the insight, Michael. It's worrying that these changes, we can see them happening in real time. So yes, mango devastation, which obviously means personal devastation, Sandy, for me. Where are you going to take us from here?
Right.
So Alfonso might be the king of mangoes, but I like to take things one level up and talk about another Asian native that's known as the king of fruits, the durian. Sandy, last time I was in Singapore, amazingly, they have signs up on the subway telling you not to eat durian, don't they?
Yes.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is the Alphonso mango in short supply this year?
0:00–1:23
2
How can durian be used to charge electronic devices?
1:23–2:41
3
What makes the lemon-shaped planet so unusual?
2:41–3:41
4
What role do sea cucumbers play in the ocean's ecosystem?
3:41–5:01
5
What are the consequences of the crayfish invasion in Africa?
5:01–5:54
6
How does El Niño affect global weather patterns?
5:54–7:03
7
What insights do ancient civilizations provide about climate change?
7:03–8:39
8
What future predictions are made regarding El Niño and its impacts?
8:39–53:51