Ben Tre is the land of many famous fruits such as coconut, green-skinned pomelo, etc. Most of these fruits are concentrated in the districts upstream of the Tien River such as Mo Cay, Chau Thanh, and especially the "fruit kingdom" of Cho Lach. However, the "four-quarter mango" is one of the few fruits associated with the coastal dunes of Thanh Phu, Ba Tri, and Binh Dai districts (Ben Tre province). It is said that a farmer in Phu Da hamlet, Vinh Binh commune, Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province successfully bred the "four-quarter mango" variety in 1982. Since then, the "four-quarter mango" variety has been grown and replicated in the localities of Ben Tre province as well as the Mekong Delta in general. The "Ben Tre four quarters mango" product is favored and consumed by the domestic market. In the Mekong Delta region, "Ben Tre four-quarters” mangos are sold in the form of green fruit, of which over two-thirds of its output is consumed in the markets of Ha Tinh, Nghe An, and Thanh Hoa provinces. In Hanoi, only ripe ones are sold.

Ben Tre’s four-quarter mango has different characteristics compared to those grown in other regions. The green four-quarter mango has crunchy flesh, small fiber, sweet, sour, mixed with a mild salty taste and light aroma. When ripe, the flesh of Ben Tre four-quarters mangoes is firm (the level of firmness is at 20.2 - 21.1 N), low in fiber, and has a strong sweet, and slightly salty taste. In addition, ripe "Ben Tre" mangoes also have a strong, slightly pungent aroma and a sodium content of 1.58 - 2.02%.

The reputation and unique quality of Ben Tre's four-quarters mango are thank to the natural conditions of the geographical area as well as the one-of-a-kind techniques of growing, nurturing, and harvesting mangoes of the local people. The geographical area for growing Ben Tre mangoes is parallel to the coast and less prone to flooding due to its higher terrain than the surrounding alluvial land. The main soil group in the geographical area is sandy soil with light mechanical composition, 60-70% sand content, light yellow to dark yellow soil color, and low water supply capacity for mango trees. This makes the H2O content in Ben Tre four-quarter mangoes low, the flesh becomes crispy when green and firm when ripe. The coastal dune soil is salty (soluble salt content is from 0.009 to 0.022%), so the sodium (Na) content appears in the fruit, so the fruit flesh has a slightly salty taste.

Four-quarter mango is a special type of mango that bears fruit all year round. In addition, old fruit, young fruit, flower, and buds can all coexist. Understanding this feature, farmers growing four-quarters of mango in Ben Tre use the method of wrapping the fruit with a cloth bag from the time the fruit is very young (the size of a big toe) with different colors to distinguish the age of the fruit. Therefore, the fruit has a beautiful color and is less affected by pests and diseases, limiting the defects in the fruit. In addition, fruit packaging also helps farmers harvest at the right time. Cloth bags are used to cover the fruit with different colors to identify the growth status of each fruit. Only pods that are bagged of the same color are harvested in a single harvest. Because of that, the Ben Tre quarter mango when harvested ensures ripeness and uniformity. During the harvest period, the fruit stalk is left 5-10 cm long to avoid plastic melt and this is also done to increase the commercial value.

Geographical area: Thanh Phong, Giao Thanh, and Thanh Hai communes of Thanh Phu district; Thanh Phuoc, Thoi Thuan, Thua Duc, Dai Hoa Loc, Binh Thoi communes of Binh Dai district; Tan My commune in Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province.

Center for Examining Geographical Indication and International Trademark