The Tropical Fruit Forum

Looks like a minor nutrient deficiency maybe more than one and the tree is fighting with grass growing right in the root zone. Have you given it any micronutrients at all?

I am giving it fertilizer 0-3-16 (Har's mix) which is supposed to contain all micronutrients. The grass is not next to trunk for 4 foot diameter area. after that grass is there but it is same for other mangoes as well and no such problems on other trees?

Hi Sam,
i understand your problem. I also grew up with mangoes that we would pick green mature and ripen inside big containers of rice and they would never ever have a single black spot or stem rot issues. The mango trees and flower/fruitlets were never sprayed but that was because it was not a humid climate like in Florida. I don't have containers of rice here in FL but i tried to wrap them in paper and put inside a ventilated box with 3-4 holes but this did not work. The ones with small amount of black spots grew their black spots in size and quantity over the days and the by the time mangoes were ripe the skin was full of spots that most of the time extended into the flesh as black rotted spots. This happened to almost all of the mangoes and were sourced from different growers so it wasn't a location or ripening issue. Certain varieties got it more than the others so it certainly is a variety issue and importantly humidity issue. Those i tried to ripen on the countertop did not get it most of the time but would not ripen fast enough although i keep my house at 81F. Perhaps keeping it at 76F or lower would constantly make the AC run and pull more moisture out and avoid this issue.

I am starting a new experiment after i talked with Walter Zill this week. He told me to wipe the mangoes with a paper towel dipped in diluted chlorox(bleach) and mentioned that Erikson farms dipped their mangoes in bleach after harvest to prevent this skin issue. I am checking the mangoes everyday and so far all looks good. I will update on how it goes. The concentration i used is 1:5 with 5 parts of water and 1 part of 100% bleach. Just wipe with the paper towel around the skin of the mango and place the mangoes in a box over some crumpled paper and then make a few holes in the box for ventilation and leave it in garage(with no AC) or sometimes i leave it in my car parked under the roof, not in direct sun. Do not wipe with bleach if there is crack /opening on the skin of the mango.

I think our problem is the same. I will try with bleach wipe. I had thought about that but was not sure. Please update me with how it goes. Thanks.

I’m no expect for sure, but I simply let them ripen on my kitchen counter. Occasionally if I want to hurry them, I leave them on my screened patio where they get afternoon sun. My neighbor always leaves his outside in full sun.

So you just leave them without wrapping in paper? Please confirm.

My observations from trying to grow coconut trees (Malayan dwarf) in my backyard.

(1) there is not a lot of info on internet. However Internet search says you get fruit from a seed tree in 4-5 years but it does not seem correct. I have in ground 4 year old tree and it does not even have a trunk yet. I think it would take another 5-6 years before I will get coconut on that tree - so in total 8 to 10 years when growing from seed.
(2) I also got few other coconut trees which were about 4 year old and had 1 foot of trunk. They are in ground for almost a year and still not flowering. Again guess is another 2-3 years before fruiting. So again hitting 8 years window.
(3) They eventually grow to 20 to 25 foot tall but would be over 25 plus years.
(4) I paid 20 for very small tree (4-6 month old) and 100 for trees with 1 foot of trunk.

Hope it helps

Thank you for picture and guidance.

On Sale again on Amazon.....even cheaper at 13.40

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Hi,
I have a 2 year old Mallika Mango tree bought from Home Depot. This season it has flowered and carrying about 7-8 mangos. However so far most of the mango are getting split. It happens literally overnight - the one in picture was fine yesterday evening and this morning it was split.

Any reasons, deficiency behind this and how to fix it? The tree was on regular water schedule - once a three days till last week and because of recent Florida rain, watering is on hold right now since last week.


Thank you.

I have also used beneficial nematodes and found lot of improvement. In a month or so after I applied nematodes they seems to be down by almost 90%. I just bought it from Amazon as it was much cheaper there compared to other sources.....

Hi Alex,
I sent you an email about these. Please reply or PM. Thanks.
Sam