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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Pests, Diseases, and Nutritional Problems
« on: December 22, 2023, 07:31:16 PM »Good afternoon. Hope all is good. Was told I might be able to get a little help with a young mango I have. It’s a grafted plant I put in the ground around April this year. I immediately topped it to promote some scaffolding branches to grow. The pictures are the only growth it has put on since then. The original leaves are still present however they are slowly drying out. The leaves and lack of new growth arent a supper concern as much as the crazy growth pattern on top. I haven’t had any real success in identifying the problem and was hoping for some help in that and what I can do to help the tree thrive instead of simply survive.
At a quick glance, it may look like Mango malformation disease but I see you are in San Diego and I’ve seen this on multiple occasions and it usually coincides with the colder weather. Your tree was probably preparing for a push of growth and fungus or the cold weather started disrupting the hormone signals in your tree. It could still be MMD but it’s difficult to know for sure without sending in samples into the lab for testing.
Either way, you have a grafted tree and your tree will attempt to bloom every winter from here on out unless you keep it warm in Winter. This is why I recommend people plant seedlings and push vegetative growth as much as possible in the early years and graft only once the tree is large enough to safely hold fruit.
Simon