Mango Pests, Diseases, and Nutritional Problems

[Guanabanus]

The leaves are probably deficient in Boron, Copper, and Zinc.

Also one needs to pull away from the trunk, anything that impedes air movement at the root-crown in rainy weather.  We prefer to see the the starting point from the root crown, of the highest root on each side.

[simon_grow]

SHV, I agree with Har. Also, if you’ve been using all those fertilizers within a short time period, you can get nutrient lock.

What kind of watering system are you using? You should be watering around the drip line and expanding out as the tree grows. Your tree is still small so it doesn’t need too much water but if you have fast draining soil, you may need to water more.

For major nutrients, ground feed with slow release pellets unless your trees are being fertigated. For the minors and trace, Foliar feeding during active stages of growth in the evening combined with a spreader sticker should do the trick.

Simon

[SHV]

Thank you Har and Simon for your observations and recommendations.  I will take these into consideration as I attempt to correct the nutrient deficiencies.  I am not using a surfactant when I foliage feed, so that should be an easy fix. Currently, I foliar spray every month since May and add slow release fertilizer every 8 weeks. Perhaps that’s a bit much.  I have clay/dg soil surrounding this tree that seems to drain fairly well, and water near the tree base with a vortex spray stake at ~15 gph for 30 mins twice a week during summer.
Thanks again!

[hawkfish007]

My LZ leaves are half open like in the picture and never fully open. Is it due to lack of water or any minerals? Or, is it normal for LM? Thanks for your input.

[simon_grow]

There are multiple things that can cause the leaves to curl up. It can often be caused by environmental stress like excessive heat. I can see that your older leaves have the curl but do the young ones have it as well? Do you see yellowing on the leaves with the curl?

If you see some yellowing on the older curled leaves, it could indicate a Magnesium deficiency. Also, are you overwatering? If you check your soil right now, is it moist?

Simon

[simon_grow]

LZ does have curly and slightly cupped leaves but the angle of your picture makes it look like some of the leaves are completely cupped up. I just checked my tree and depending on the angle of the picture, it can look overly cupped when I’m reality it’s just normal for LZ.

If you see yellowing, it could be Magnesium deficiency.

Simon

[hawkfish007]

Simon, I just checked the leaves and they don’t seem to have any yellowing; however, newer leaves have some red/black dots along the midrib. The soil is still moist, I do water everyday with 20-20-20 at slow setting with an ezflo.




Update: I am suspecting over fertilization (21-5-20 and 20-20-20) along with 100+ F days are behind the leaf curling. I switched to regular watering with no fertilizer and hoping LZ will be back to healthy state in no time.

[BR]

Hi all, I just came into care of this tree a few months ago. I'm suspecting there are multiple problems here so I wanted to get the experts opinion on what cocktail to solve it with. From browsing this thread it looks like sooty mold + anthracnose. The fruit set this year was poor and almost all fruit was damaged. I don't know the cultivar (Haden?) so I attached a picture of the tree if anyone can ID it. Thanks in advance.

[BR]

While I'm at it here is a totally different tree (Pickering) which has been stuck in a 3 gal pot for longer than I would like due to the heavy rains.

[Victoria Ave]

Hawkfish,

I would suspect you are over watering and over fertilizing. I am in riverside and we are getting hot temps as well but my trees get water twice a week, including my mango in pots and they are doing well. I've killed trees in the past from both under and over watering. But they died a whole lot quicker from overwatering.

[Guanabanus]

Mango Bacterial Black Spot---leaf form.

Copper sprays, and other anti-bacterials, and nutritionals to strengthen the tree.  De-emphasize Nitrogen.

[Oolie]

Here is a good link with photos for nutrient deficiency.

[BR]

Mango Bacterial Black Spot---leaf form.

Copper sprays, and other anti-bacterials, and nutritionals to strengthen the tree.  De-emphasize Nitrogen.

Thanks for the help, Har.

[hawkfish007]

It appears I was over fertilizing my trees with 20-20-20 on ez-flo medium setting. I stopped applying 20-20-20 about 2 weeks ago and added some bio flora to my LZ, but didn’t change watering frequency or duration. It has rebounded nicely since (it was a 3 gallon stick from plantogram, planted last November)

[Orkine]

A newbie (Ruby93) needs help.  He/She posted a mango disease question at link below.
Can anyone help with his symptoms? Or can an admin move his post here so it will get some attention?

(Title is Young Mango Tree - Help!!)
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=33477.0

[Orkine]

I dont know what I need to do to fix this.

These are grafts on a recently top-worked tree.
The grafts took but the growth is anemic at best.  The leaves are tiny and even when there has been a second flush it sits right on the first making it look more like a rose than a mango (see fourth and fifth picture).

Should I feed this plant Nitrogen, it needs to grow.
I have or can get fertilizer with minors if that is what this baby needs.




This is my most recent graft on the same stump and the first flush here look more normal.  The blue dots are from a recent spray of copper.



In case it is relevant, I don't irrigate or fertilize my lawn - which comes right up next to the tree.  I use a mulching mower to the grass clipping return to the soil.

It has been 3 months since this post and the plant nooks no different.
I want this plant to come back and want to put it on some regime for next season.
I will take very specific suggestions.
So far, I plan on fertilizing, including with nitrogen, once the cold passes.
I will test the soil to confirm that calcium is needed.
I will keep the plant warm through the winter.

Anything else?

Nothing I have tried on this tree has worked.  I am ready to try something drastic or cut the tree down to reclaim the spot.
I will take any suggestions even if failure kills the tree.  My only lemon zest was grafted onto the tree but I have one of everything else so its not a terrible loss.  I had just hoped to take advantage of what was once an extensive root system from a full grown tree.  I assume that by now most of the root system has likely died back.

.. and the tree is dead,. I will be pulling it or cutting flush and using the space for 2 new plants.

[Oolie]

when you dig it up, check for root development. Sometimes plants decline due to being pot bound/circling roots.

Though the problem appears to be classic Zinc deficiency.

[Orkine]

I will.  I think this is more me than anything else.  I cut a full grown tree to 3 feet to topwork it.  Grafted on to the regrowth and removed most of the extra growth to focus all the energy on my grafts.  To compound it, my cut was horizontal allowing the cut surface to stay wetter than it should, invitation to infection.
I think, with all the loss of vegetation, that the roots died back and without the proper additional care, I may have push passed some tipping point.

My new top work projects after this are done in sections, a third of the tree at a time and all three trees I have done since are thriving.

I am not distraught, I plan on getting two trees more closely spaced into the spot taken up by the Lancentilla.  This time, I hope the to have trees that will stay small(er).

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions to save this tree.  Very much appreciated.

[Z070305]

I don't have images to share, but one plot of land that I have is currently facing issues of termites infestation.

It started with wings on one of the potted mango plant. I didn't pay much attention to that and it didn't occur to me that termites have landed on that pot too. Fast forward several weeks, I started noticing holes on the soil. Upon closer inspection, I discovered termites. They burrowed themselves all the way down to the soil beneath the pots. While the plants look healthy, I discovered that the roots were several destroyed and I had no choice but to discard multiple pots of plants. I have tried various methods but termites are persistent. Currently still fighting a battle with them

[Guanabanus]

In Brazil, in the 1960's and 1970's, we bought little glass bottles with a cork, containing Arsenate powder.  We would break about an inch of the covering of a termite trail, and then tap the bottle to drop a little powder into the trail.  As it did not kill quickly, it got distributed all through the nest.  Finished.  I checked the stilts of the houses monthly, for new trails going up the outsides of the stilts--- the stilts were all of woods which termites will not burrow into.

I have no idea if this is currently available anywhere.

[Oolie]

I'm not finding much on the internet, so I thought I'd ask the experts.

I believe this is a cultivar specific phenomenon, because Lemon Zest is the only one with the problem, but all the petioles on the leaves are cracking. I first noticed it on the older leaves, but even the new ones have it.

LZ is the only tree out of 14 showing this symptom.

[Guanabanus]

Try increasing nutritional levels of Copper and Boron and Calcium, especially sprayed, to lessen splitting, or at least to lessen infections at the splits.

[Oolie]

I will, but I was under the impression that mangoes take up foliar applied nutrients best before growth hardens off. This symptom occurs on the hardened off growth, but not long after hardening.

Luckily in this location there doesn't seem to be enough humidity to promote infection. That hasn't stopped me from taking precautions.

[Guanabanus]

To be clear, I have never heard a specific nutritional cause for petiole splitting.

I have heard a claim, probably unsubstantiated, about Copper deficiency's being one of the causes of bark splitting.

And Boron deficiency is sometimes listed as contributing to fruit splitting.   And Calcium is always listed as strengthening cell walls, etc.  Could add Silicon to this list, and others.

[Oolie]

Thank you Har. I will make sure to experiment with this tree, as other LZ tree photos on this site do not show the same symptom, and I'm unable to turn up any other clues.