Deep dive in mango tree nutrition needs.

[JoeP450]

Hey forum,

Found this presentation and thought it was really interesting to pass along, maybe way more than any of us backyard growers need, but interesting part on calcium. Never really thought about calcium and it turns out there is a huge role. Another point to consider is Richard campbells orchard and how he is digging through bedrock of limestone and coral.... i.e. a goldmine of calcium carbonate CaCO3 mango nutrients. Check it out -> https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/AustralianMangoes/food-for-fruit-nutrition-management-in-mangoes

-joep450

[simon_grow]

Thanks for the slides, very informative!

Simon

[Jose Spain]

Very interesting, a lot of important concepts and very useful info. Thank you!

[Seanny]

The most important slide is the one with "The Nitrogen Relationship" graph.

[Guanabanus]

Excellent.  Thank you.

I need to pay more attention to Boron, and also to be less extreme about avoiding Nitrogen.   I have long been emphasizing Calcium and Potassium and Zinc.

[Mike T]

If you have mandarins the first sign of boron deficiency is fruit not being juicy enough and dry at segment tips. If you put a little borax which is cheap with dolomite which is also cheap you have a great mg,ca and bo combination. Mix it with other powdered fertilisers and mangoes trees will appreciate it.Zn and manganese are best use together unless you have a natural abundance of manganese. N is still the most important nutrient and you just have to hold off with it in the few months before flowering.

[Cookie Monster]

Calcium is indeed extremely important to mango fruit development. Many of my mangoes are growing in what amounts to "man made muck" (the product of a decade of super heavy mulching to the tune over 1,000 cubic yards). While the soil just beneath the top layer of black compost / muck is laden with calcium carbonate, the feeder roots prefer the moist and nutrient rich environment of the upper layer, which is deficient in calcium when viewed in terms of ratios with other macronutrients (eg, potassium). So, the net result was that my mangoes were gradually declining in quality -- low brix, high portion of the crop ruined by internal breakdown, softer flesh, lack of "chalk," odd reddish color to the flesh, etc.

To combat the issue, I brought in several thousand pounds of gypsum and spread it across the top of the mucky soil. As a result, this year, my mango crop was back to normal -- high brix, no internal breakdown, and in general great tasting mangoes.

But that Australian nutrient slide deck seems to belie Dr Campbell's set-it-and-forget-it style of planting mangoes where one's purported goal is to cultivate mango trees with yellow leaves in total ignorance of micro- and macro-nutrients (with the exception of calcium, of course -- which is one of the few nutrients that his soil has :-).

[Mark in Texas]

Excellent.  Thank you.

I need to pay more attention to Boron, and also to be less extreme about avoiding Nitrogen.   I have long been emphasizing Calcium and Potassium and Zinc.

I apply Boron in the form of Solubor to all of my tropical trees, especially the avocados and my vineyard.  Err on the light side.  If you cross the line to a little too much it's toxic.

Not enough emphasis is given to the important role Boron plays in the reproductive cycle.

[Future]

But that Australian nutrient slide deck seems to belie Dr Campbell's set-it-and-forget-it style of planting mangoes where one's purported goal is to cultivate mango trees with yellow leaves in total ignorance of micro- and macro-nutrients (with the exception of calcium, of course -- which is one of the few nutrients that his soil has :-).

That is worth repeating....

[Seanny]

That is worth repeating....

Why repeat an ignorant post?

Those slides encourage farmers to dump extra fertilizers to increase production, at a low quality point that they can get away with. Those methods have NOTHING to do with home gardening. For home gardening we want the best quality, not what the slides advocate.

If you understand what the slide "The Nitrogen Relationship" means, you can discard the rest of the slides.

[pineislander]

Those slides encourage farmers to dump extra fertilizers to increase production, at a low quality point that they can get away with. Those methods have NOTHING to do with home gardening. For home gardening we want the best quality, not what the slides advocate. If you understand what the slide "The Nitrogen Relationship" means, you can discard the rest of the slides.

If you didn't fertilize at all, or used only certified organic/alternative soil management techniques you could have low quality and low yield if there are limiting factors or something in excess or out of balance. Is the yellowing of Dr. Campbell's trees low N or low sulfur? He might not know if he doesn't do leaf analysis..., but at least the slides discuss how these can be related.

Maybe we'll see Ciruli Bros. producing something great using Dr. Campbell's methods!

[Cookie Monster]

Best quality requires that trees are receiving adequate nutrition, in the right ratios. Brix (sweetness), color, and flesh consistency are all heavily influenced by nutrient levels -- and this doesn't only apply to commercial-level cultivation. To believe otherwise is, well, ignorance :-).

If we consider the analog of human nutrition, completely ignoring nutrient intake in one's diet makes little sense -- especially if we're expecting the human to produce prodigious quantities of healthy offspring.

Of course if you're growing trees in their native environment, then you needn't worry about nutrition and fertilization. However, most of us are attempting to grow fruit trees outside of their native habitat.

That is worth repeating....

Why repeat an ignorant post?

Those slides encourage farmers to dump extra fertilizers to increase production, at a low quality point that they can get away with. Those methods have NOTHING to do with home gardening. For home gardening we want the best quality, not what the slides advocate.

If you understand what the slide "The Nitrogen Relationship" means, you can discard the rest of the slides.

[Future]

Not just healthy offspring but clear thinking, good decisions, a strong healthy life...etc.

If we consider the analog of human nutrition, completely ignoring nutrient intake in one's diet makes little sense -- especially if we're expecting the human to produce prodigious quantities of healthy offspring.