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Green-Seeds.com
Fruits
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Mango Description
Family: Anacardiaceae
Scientific Name: Mangifera indica
Origin: South and Southeast Asia
 Mango is a large, deep-rooted,
symmetrical evergreen tree growing to 90 feet high and 80 feet wide. It
has simple, alternate, lanceolate leaves 12 to 16 inches long that are yellow-green,
purple, or copper colored when young, turning leathery, glossy, and deep
green when mature. New leaves arise in terminal growth flushes that occur
several times a year.
FLOWERS. The pyramidal
flower panicles borne on mature terminal branches contain several hundred
pale pink to white flowers that are about 1/4 inch wide when open. Most
of the flowers function as males and provide pollen, but some are bisexual
and set fruit. Pollination is by flies, wasps, and bees.
FRUITS. The fruit weighs
about 1/4 pound to 3 pounds. Fruit shape varies according to variety and
may be round, ovate, or obovate. The color of immature fruit is green, gradually
turning to yellow, orange, purple, red, or combinations of these colors
as the fruit matures. Mature fruit has a characteristic fragrance and a
smooth, thin, tough skin.
The flesh of ripe mangos
is pale yellow to orange and is juicy, sweet, and sometimes fibrous. The
single seed usually is large and flattened and adheres to the flesh. The
seed contains one or more embryos, depending on variety or type.
Mangos are commonly
peeled and eaten fresh as a dessert fruit but are also used in juice preparation
and made into preserves, chutney, dried slices, and pickles.
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Diseases
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Anthracnose, Colletotrichum
gloeosporioides (flowers, fruits)
Stem-end rot (fruits)
Sooty mold (leaves and
fruits)
Powdery mildew, Oidium
mangiferae (flowers, leaves, young fruit)
Tip burn (leaves; associated
with potassium deficiency, water stress)
Fertilization
Fertilizer may be a
1:1:1 or 1:2:2 ratio formulation, such as 16-16-16 or 10-20-20 NPK.
TREE ESTABLISHMENT.
During tree establishment, phosphorus (P) is important for root development.
YOUNG TREES. Young trees
should receive 0.1 to 0.2 pound of N (e.g., 1 to 2 pounds of 102020 fertilizer)
per year during the first year and 0.15 to 0.3 pound of N (e.g., 1.5 to
3 pounds of 102020) during years two and three. The total annual amount
of fertilizer should be divided into three or four applications, preferably
applied before growth flushes are anticipated.
BEARING TREES. Nitrogen
(N) and potassium (K) are needed by bearing trees for good yields. In general,
bearing mango trees should receive about 1 pound of a complete fertilizer
(containing N, P, and K) annually for each inch of trunk diameter measured
4 to 5 feet above ground level. Half of the fertilizer should be applied
just before flowering and the rest applied after the crop is harvested.
Supplemental N should
be applied just before flowering rather than during fall and winter, when
vegetative growth flushes rather than flowering occur.
Slow-release fertilizer
formulations are preferred, except for supplemental N applications, which
should have rapid release. Fertilizers should be spread in a zone directly
beneath the leaf drip line and, if possible, application should be followed
by irrigation.
Harvest
The harvest season is
usually between June and September in Hawaii, depending on variety. Fruit
matures three to five months after flowering.
Mangos should be picked
before they are fully ripe, at which time they soften and fall. Fruits are
usually picked after they develop some red, orange, or yellow color. Mangos
will ripen and may be picked when the flesh inside has turned yellow, regardless
of exterior color.
The fruit bruises easily
and must be handled carefully to avoid damage. They are ripened at room
temperature and then refrigerated. Mature mangos keep fairly well under
refrigeration for two to three weeks at 50 to 55F.
Mango trees may remain
in production for 40 years or more.
Insects
Mediterranean fruit
fly, Ceratitis capitata
Oriental fruit fly,
Dacus dorsalis
Mango weevil, Sternochetus
mangiferae
Scales, including Ceroplastes
rubens, Pseudaulacaspis cockerelli
Red-banded thrips, Selenothrips
rubrocinctus
Mango blossom midge,
Dasineura mangiferae
Southern green stink
bug, Nezara viridula
Mango shoot caterpillar,
Bombotelia jocosatrix
Black twig borer, Xylosandrus
compactus
Mites
Irrigation
Young mango trees should
not lack water. If rainfall is limited, irrigation water should be applied
about once every two weeks during the first year, every three weeks during
the second year, and once a month thereafter.
Mature trees are more
productive if irrigation water is withheld for at least two months before
flowering. Although hot, dry weather is favorable to fruit development,
supplementary irrigation between flowering and harvest is advisable for
good yields.
Location
Mangos will grow from
sea level to an elevation of about 1500 feet in Hawaii, but are most productive
below 1200 feet. They are best adapted to hot, dry leeward areas receiving
less than 60 inches of rainfall annually, although supplemental irrigation
is desirable for highest yields in those areas.
In humid, high-rainfall
areas, anthracnose disease often damages or destroys both flowers and developing
fruits.
The best fruit production
occurs when the weather is dry during the flowering period. Yields are reduced
if wind damages the flowers during winter storms or if wet weather occurs
throughout the flowering season. Mango trees should be protected from strong
winds, but windbreaks that shade or compete with them should be avoided.
Propagation
Most improved mango
varieties are monoembryonic, with single embryos of hybrid origin, and therefore
do not produce true from seed. They are propagated by grafting onto seedling
rootstocks. Grafted trees grow more slowly and are often smaller than seedling
trees. They usually produce fruit in three to five years in dry areas, while
seedling trees usually take at least five years to come into bearing.
Polyembryonic varieties,
on the other hand, produce two or more plants of nucellar (maternal) origin
from each seed. These plants are predominantly true to type, and may be
grown from seed without the necessity of grafting. The so-called common
or Hawaiian mango varieties are polyembryonic.
Inarching is sometimes
done to propagate mango varieties, and older trees may be topworked. Mangos
are not propagated from cuttings or by air layering because the resulting
trees are weak rooted.
Pruning
Developing trees should
be trained to eliminate low branches less than 2 feet from the ground, leaving
three to four main branches on the trunk at different heights.
Pruning of well-formed
older trees is usually confined to removal of dead branches. Pruning is
preferably done after fruiting, before a growth flush occurs. Pruning can
also be done to restrict tree size for small yards or when more than 35
trees per acre are planted.
Some delay in flowering
can be expected from new growth produced in response to pruning.
Soils
Mangos can be grown
on a wide range of soil types, from light sandy loams to red clay soils.
Preferred soil pH is 5.5 to 7.5. The best production and fruit quality are
on rich, deep soils.
Soils should be well
drained, and moderately sloping sites are recommended to prevent waterlogging.
On soils where taproot
growth is not impeded by impermeable layers, mangos may develop a deep taproot
that aids drought tolerance and wind resistance.
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Green - Seeds Co., Ltd.
81/10B Ho Van Hue Street, Phu Nhuan District, Ward 9, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 (8) 847 6901 - Fax: +84 (8) 844 1392 - Email: info@green-seeds.com
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