This project is particularly impressive in the complete eradication within a couple of months of a disease which had been a decades-old problem of an old infected mango orchard, an effect which lasted for the next four years of observation and which has occurred without any accompanying genetic alterations in the DNA. Thus the mechanisms underlying the improvement remain unexplained at present.

Project objectives

Alphonso, the most delicious variety of mango (Mangifera indica L.) known for its excellent texture, taste and richness in vitamins and minerals is intrigued by a physiological disorder known as “Spongy Tissue” (internal breakdown).

This is characterized by unripe, acidic, pale yellow to brown corky tissue with or without air pockets along with an unpleasant taste, which renders the fruit unfit for human consumption.Since last five decades, mangoes affected by this disorder do not show any external symptoms Physically it is detected only after cutting the fruit open, posing a challenge for quality control in export.

The reasons attributed to the incidence of this disorder include factors as diverse as ecological, nutritional, environmental, microbial, physiological and biochemical. However the malady remains essentially unsolved to date.

Generally the spongy tissue affects 80% of the mangoes of Alphonso variety at tree ripe stage, irrespective of the year, age of the tree, orchard spacing, fruit position and size. So it is commercial practice to spray pesticides 7 to 8 times per year and harvest the mangoes at around 70-80% maturity to decrease the percentage of spongy tissue, and yet more than 20 % fruits continue to be affected.

Thus the project objective was to eradicate this disorder while also producing an enhanced yield, taste and quality of mangoes.

A 16 acre Alphonso mango orchard at Wakavali, India, belonging to the agricultural university, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Maharashtra, India, was selected and the plot was divided into 2 parts by an imaginary line, with 75 mango trees on the right side as controls and 55 on the left designated for treatment. All trees were 32 year old and had the spongy tissue problem from the beginning of their fruit-bearing days.

The selected part of the plot was exposed to Mr. Trivedi’s thought transmission (also known as Biofield treatment) in the month of December 2005, even though the flowering was completed and about 30% of the flowers were already converted into fruit. The trees had been observed to have started flowering in the month of September.

According to Mr.Trivedi’s instructions the control trees were protected by standard practices of irrigation, fertilization, pesticides and fungicides, whereas the treated trees were given only irrigation.

1. Five months (May 2006) after the treatment was given to the mango trees, the matured fruit was harvested and tested for:
   1. Presence of spongy tissue
   2. Fresh weight
   3. Yield
   4. Quality assessment of the fruits (sugar, vitamin C, acidity and TSS content)
   5. General morphology and characteristics of flowers, fruits and leaves
2. Follow up observations were continued over the next three years, with quantitative records of the average flowering, yields and spongy tissue disorders annually noted in treated and control plants.
3. In 2008, about 2 ½ years after the treatment, treated and mango leaves were tested for genetic alterations at Bangalore GeNei, India, using DNA fingerprinting analysis with six RAPD primers.

Results:

No genetic changes were found in the tests done in 2008 with RAPD markers (click here to see report), hence it is concluded that all improvements described below and found to be sustained over four years, were due to alterations in biochemical or physiological pathways, yet to be investigated.

No spongy tissue infection

Spongy tissue infection

The observations commenced in May 2006, about 5 months after the treatment of the trees. There was no evidence of spongy tissue disorder in the fruit harvested from the treated trees whereas presence of spongy tissue disorder was noted in 80% of the mature harvested control fruit. In chemical analysis, Vitamin C in mango pulp of treated trees was found to be 44% higher on the average than the same from control trees. The content of Vitamin C has a direct bearing on the immunity of the plant.

Another interesting observation was that acidity was higher by an average of 66%, and total sugar less by 26%. As mangoes ripen there is a drop in acidity and increase in sugar levels. These differences in final content indicate the possibility of a change in the ripening process in treated trees. The mature fruit was also found to be much larger in size and less fibrous, yielding 75% higher pulp and being on an average 45% heavier in weight.     

The mangoes from the treated plants were also found to have more aroma and better taste than in the controls.

Observations are summarized in the tables below:

New Growth in Trees

Properties of Mangoes

Quality studies of treated Alphonso mango

Inference:

The rapid transformations which caused complete eradication of the spongy tissue disorder impressed the Head of Department of Agricultural Botany, Dr. Jadhav, as nothing short of miraculous, as defying all laws and predictions of the models of science today.

The following points stand out in the observations to date:

• Not only was the 32 year old problem completely solved but there were no signs of any pest attack or other disease, no airborne infections which would be expected in the environment of diseased leaves and infected mangoes which prevailed
• No chemical additives of any kind had been added to the treated plot, which makes the result a completely natural adaptation
• The growth process for the treated trees has been a completely organic one and has yet resulted in a substantial improvement in yield, flavor, immunity and overall resistance of the fruit
• Another important observation was that the flowering pattern had altered at a late stage in flowering and fruiting. The trees had started flowering about 3 months prior to the date of treatment and according to science would have already fixed the program of flowering periods and patterns, and the final produce about 2-3 months before the flowering
• The lack of DNA polymorphism (changes in DNA) between treated and control trees implies that the control trees could be having a potentially more ordered flowering pattern and ability to resist disorders and pathogen or pests, whose expression has become stronger under the influence of the treatment
• An increased acidity and reduced total sugar in the fruit at maturity indicate a change in the ripening process, a theory that receives support also from the changed characteristics of the fruit in terms of larger average size, higher yield of pulp and heavier weight.
• There has been an enormous increase in the vitality of observed plants, a change which has remained sustained over years.