When to Feed and Prune a Mango Tree

Stan Langlands starts with ...
Could you help me in what to feed mango tree and when to prune the tree if we have to and any general information that might help,as we are not sure what tree it is but it has nice fruit not many . We just mooved into this house about THREE years ago

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Correy says...
I was listening to the Australia gardener Colin Cambel of mytalk 4bc and a lady rang up and said I have a mango tree about 2 meters high and I have only ever got 2 mangoes from it.

Col said that now was the best time to start your spraying program (Today in Australia is The end of August)

Seaweead extract needs to be sprayed every 3 weeks you can get one of the hose end sprayers of seasol and aim it over the trea and all of it will cover the tree.

Spray the flowers and the fruit with copper oxi choloride or fungi fighter (spelling?) and alternate weeks
mango zed (spelling) because what happens is that the fungi builds up an immunity to the copper oxi and you need this other one.

Then in december 1 and a quarter kg of citrus fertilizer.

I think I got thes chemicals wrong especially the "mango zed" can anyone clarify?

Anonymous says...
Hello Corry, and Anonomous. Seaweed extract or seasol is used to simulate root growth. Its usefulness is once and therafter useless. It requires to be placed in the ground with lots of water. To fruit your probably missing pot ash and some trace elements. There is no use in spraying the tree untill the first signs of flowers. If you have a leaf problem then anytime will do. I dont think you need to do to much if the tree is 4 to 6 years old and bought as a seedling. If itfrom seed then it may just not grow fruit or may need a polinater, how ever even with all of this flowers should have been produced by now.

Anonymous says...
Hello Corry. The main usefulness of this product is to get the micro hairs or roots of a plant stimualated into fast growth or to help repair itself. These are the roots that absorbe most of the food and water. The large roots act as lungs do and swap air, which is why most trees dont like wet feet.

Rae says...
Hi. I have been to a few training sessions with the makers of Seasol and have done some research on seaweed products. Seasol not only stimulates root growth, but flowering and fruiting as well. It contains plant hormones such as auxins and it actually thickens the walls of plant cells thus making pest and disease harder to take hold. Not only that, it stimulates the micro organisms in the soil thus helping organic matter break down. The alginins in seaweed extract also have similar benefits. Seaweed extract is a fantastic product. The Yates brand doesn't even smell that much!

Lachlann says...
Gwen, sprays are highly toxic!! You could even make your soil toxic. Research has shown that home gardeners when they use sprays often overdo it 'cause they don't really know - so I suggest you research these things carefully when in doubt - the manufacturers usually give very good telephone advice. Hope you don't mind me saying this to you. Best wishes with it. Many of the guys on the Cloud Forest Cafe website live in your area and are very experienced. They may also be able to help with local advice.

Becc says...
I'm also new to mango farming, and although in feb. we has a great crop, as we had only brought the property year, prunning the tree is a little scary I'm not sure if I'm taking to much or to little. We fertilized with Nitrophoska Blue Special, recomanded by our local Landmark guys, just before the rain and it soaked in to the soil well. Our 120plus tree are about 2m high and we want to keep them at a good height to make picking easier on us. So any idaes about pruning would be appreicated

trikus says...
I have seen a mango tree come back and bear fruit in 2 years after being chopped down to a 1m stump ! It was a fantastic tasting strawberry mango mmmmmmmmmmmm
I used to climb up into the tree and make little perches , and then prune all branches that made it difficult to reach or were out of reach . Open up the centre to make the tree like a vase gives more fruit as well . Fruit usually only forms on the outside , so low flat trees can give just as much fruit as a large ball [normal] shape .

SlickMick says...
Hi Lyn,

The following link provides all you should want to know about pruning mangoes.

Perhaps your mother's tree will recover but if the new growth is dying it may have seen the last of its days. :(

Jimmi says...
cut it back til you have green sappy tissue ie remove all dead stuff, feed it well, put a shelter made of polythene around it.

Should be good.

Jose L. says...
Sorry for your mango, Lyn.
I suggest to get a dwarf mango that will grow not more than 10 feet, so you will never need prunings. Small mangos are Graham, Cogshall, Julie, Fairchild, Mallika, Carrie and Glenn.
Fairchild, Mallika, Carrie and Glenn have an excelent taste. 'Mallika'´s is superb, but to get the optimun flavor you have to pick the fruit mature green and keep it in a cardboard box for ten to twenty days till it rippens.
Their fruiting season for them is from June to July, 'Mallika' something latter, so if you want mango all year, you should plant:
'Carrie': Juny-July
'Mallika': late Juny-August
'Keitt': August-October
'Choc-Anon': November-January (also called 'Miracle', because it fuits in the winter, and often in the summer too).

Neil says...
Does pruning the centre of a mango tree improve yield

Mardy says...
Hi all, I have 2 backyard mango trees about 10 metres high each. Just moved into the house 6 months ago and had a few mangoes grow on it over the summer but overall not very healthy.

I've been cutting some dead looking branches right back to the main thick branch (not the stump, but the branches coming out of the stump). Is this a bad thing to do? I really have no idea.

There is just so much leaf growth and being a small yard i have to trim it back so it doesn't hang where it shouldn't. I dont need to trim the top like most people seem to talk about, but the sides.

Am i doing damage by cutting these branches back?

MO says...

MO says...
Brenden ,curved leaves means zinc difficiency which is a trace element. You need to spray the tree with trace elements mixture solutin it will include zinc. this should do it .Any time early morning spray or afternoon not at high temp.

MO says...
Lyne choose a thick branch that is going too high 3 4 inches past a healthy growth ,shoot or medium branch and prune it there dont feel guilty. U should remove a thick branch.Also remove enough length not 1 meter minimum 2-2.5 meters if your tree is say 10 meters high,or it will be useless ,as it will grow them back by next year (have heart) the thicker the branch cross section ,the more shoots on the lower trunck you will get by sprin and summer the second year or next ,they will blossom close to the ground . next year You will do the same to another main branch with no hesitation I garantee.N.B.Beware that branches can have a spring action when it releases such a wieght suddenly.Get someone to chop it in more than one sectio unless he is an expert dont forget to cut above a growth with 4 inches so it doese not dry.

MO says...
Gwen,copper oxichlorates should be sprayed for anthracnose imediatly after winter pruning as protection say by November to mid December.then by Febreuary add to the copper sulphur (micronic).Do not use copper products while blossom this can cause infirtility.IMPOrtant:
1- never spray in the heat ,only early morning or afternoon .
2-Never spray a plant that has not been watered recently 1-3 days.
3-Most of copper oxide products use 10 centiliter to 1 liter water i.e. 1 copper to 100 water or 10 copper to 1000 water.
4-as for sulphur added 2.5 grams/liter water(1000 centiliter)

Patricia says...
Mancozeb is the product that Col Campbell mentioned.

Jess says...
second photo for good measure

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Jess says...
Thanks Wayne!

Brad says...
Flower and/or fruit drop is often a lack of water. There's conflicting information out there on mangos (keep the dry vs water well), but a well established mango needs the occasional deep water, but they hate wet feet.

So if you have clay soil be a little careful, but otherwise try giving them a deep soaking once a week, with a basin or similar to stop the water running off. (e.g. let a tap drip or trickle for a long time)

Unfortunately if ALL the fruit have dropped off this year, you won't need this in 09, but if there's some still on the tree, this might help it keep them. In 2010, do this when the tree starts to flower until the fruit is ready.

Brad says...
My dad-in-law (the actual mango expert and also in Perth) fertilizes his earlier in the spring and would only use liquid feed now. If the tree doesn't look great, maybe a weak feed with trace elements now?

kjki says...
Manzeb

margi says...
trikus - i am desperate to get a strawberry mango seedling or graft, but haven't been able to find one. i'm opeful after reading your comment. any chance of getting a seddling from under that tree??
thanks
margi

Isa says...
I have a 4 year old mango tree grown from seed Melbounre. It is growing on our north facing wall of the house. It now,(August 2011),has many flowering heads but the top half of the tree has all the leaves limp and nearly dead. Some of the leaves, in the whole tree, have black spots. Any medication or fertilisers need to be natural and not chemical to meet our needs. Would anyone help to revitalise this tree.
Many thanks.
Isa

db says...
Hi All, I just planted grafted Mango tree in a pot. Is it OK to give Seasol for first couple of months, may be once a week? or seasol is not suitable for mango tree? Thanks.

db says...
Thanks BJ, I'll give seasol once I'm home today, I planted it yesterday evening.. I've read Mango trees don't need any fertilizers, even in a pot if potting mix has good fertilizers in it, so that's incorrect right? For how long I should keep giving seasol and when should I start with powerfeed?

Db says...
Thanks BJ, that link was useful. Do u have any advice on how long I should keep giving seasol before starting any fertilizers? ( not just for mango but in general as for any fruit tree )

David_WM says...
All sounds good Scott. Its about the right time for southern regions. I've heard the flowering is aprox a week later in the year for every degree latitude south you go. The blackening you had is probably anthracnose. You can spray with copper oxychloride and mangozeb to help keep it away. A lot of those small fruit should fall off, but that is normal. Good luck

Bangkok says...
http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil.html

Neem oil can be used for many purposes.

Bangkok says...
If it looks like this then it's powdery mildew.

You can spray sulfur or copper or both but it will come back.

wintershade says...
thanks for your info Margaret. couple of queries.
do you just cut off ALL the centre branches?
do you need to cut on a slant or cover the cut or anything?
does it matter what season you cut
or if its rainy season (i live on far north coast - it can rain a lot in late spring summer)
any info will help - i haven't done this before. the trees are young (only about 2 years old) but a couple are shooting up and i want low fruit. thanks

wintershade says...
thanks very much Mango Mike. great instructions

sandy31 says...
Spray management :- I was listening to Jerry from ABC gardening AUS  .  He uses Wettable sulphur from Flower stage  to pea size fruit  every 3 weeks and after that once every month for fungal control till harvest.
Pruning:- I learned this in India on a high density mango farm..   Prune manago just like we do stone fruits..
1st heading cut at 2.5  - 3 feet above ground after a node.Many branches will come , KEEP only 3. Let them grow.. Once their wood is matured all three branches are to be cut after 1-1.5 foot , after node.Many branches will come  only KEEP 2.  Once their wood is matured both branches are to be again cut after 1-1.5 foot after node.  jst like previous stepNow keep repeating this cycle for 3 and 2 till you achieve the desired height of your mango tree. 
Fertilizing :- dig a trench 1m away from mango tree ( it ca be closed depending on tree height)  add cow manure/compost in trench water well and fill back , after 15-20 days redug trench add NPK with trace elements fertilizer, water well and fill back trench....This is done 2 times a year on a mango farm in India,  a month before flowering season and another  immediately post harvest ...

Hope this helps