Yeah, Leo gets plenty of PM at his orchard but the varieties he is growing is at least partially resistant to PM.
PM is definitely one of the causes of low fruit set because it really affects the blooms but I get multiple blooms and the later blooms don’t get affected as much.
Maturity of the tree or a shift in hormones within the tree is likely a cause for fruit drop post fruit set.
My potted DSGed LZ dropped two more fruit yesterday and again, I notice that this is correlated with new vegetative growth on the plant. This natural attrition is probably normal for Mangos but perhaps LZ is just one of those varieties that get a little heavy handed when it comes to self thinning?
I’m thinking that as a large tree, the Lemon Zest variety naturally wants to reach a larger size before hormones levels tip the scales and trigger a reduction in hormones that signal for fruit drop or the opposite happens and there is an increase in hormones that signal for holding onto the fruit.
It could also be that a certain level of stored carbohydrates can influence fruit drop/retention.
Some may argue that VP is a large tree yet it is very precious but it could be variety specific.
In Cherimoyas, the Dr White variety is a large tree canopy variety and it does not hold fruit well until the tree is established for several years and attains a relatively large canopy.
Simon