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Author Topic: Mango Tree Top Work  (Read 1775 times)

igrowmangos

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Mango Tree Top Work
« on: November 02, 2019, 02:04:35 PM »
Greetings growers,

I got a question for you experienced grafters, I want to top work a Valencia Pride mango tree to a Honey Kiss. The VP is about 5 years old now so it has some decent sized mature branches. The question is if I prune to top work and graft, will the lower buds of the Valencia Pride push out and eventually branch out? Is it as simple as pinching off the new growth under the grafts? Thanks for the help.
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Orkine

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2019, 05:16:48 PM »
If you give the VP a hard prune, it will flush new growth.  You could graft on those new growth.
You could also try Sapote's modified Zill, grave n coffin graft (strange name but that's what he call it) to put your Honey kiss scions on branches thicker than the scion and cut the branch off only after you scion pushes.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=29250.msg330653#msg330653


My one advice, don't cut off all the canopy.  Some do that and all is well.  I have learnt from experience that I can take the canopy off in thirds and complete my topwork in 3 phases. 

You can watch these videos by Chris of Truly Tropical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDpXouUAiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulSNctiCfmU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vTwXbalkNg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjhhyXIH5w

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igrowmangos

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2019, 05:56:37 PM »
 :) Thanks a bunch for the tips. I will probably do the top working in sections. That way also if any grafts fail it still not at a total loss. I will take a look at the videos thanks for the links. I would try to graft on the new growth but the VP is so darn aggressive. I may even pull it out instead of messing with it and replace it with a Peach Cobbler.
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mangokothiyan

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2019, 08:24:30 PM »


Valencia Pride and Honey Kiss may be too much of a mismatch. Honey Kiss is a slow grower while VP is one of the most vigorous growers.
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Orkine

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2019, 08:36:19 AM »
I don't think he intends on keeping the VP once the HK is established.  Just keep branches to keep the plant going while changing the canopy over the course of the year.  As Chris demonstrated in her video it could be done in several months with a vigorous grower line VP. 
After the change he would have to spend some time removing any new VP growth till the HK fills in.
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igrowmangos

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2019, 03:26:24 PM »
I don't want the VP. To me it's a shy tree. Very vigorous but not willing to fruit. Actually, I have many trees and this one seems like it is not wanting to reward me. I will see how it does this season but to me at least it's not worth the trouble. I hope I can find a solution for it but it's not that simple. Digging it out seems like a big job.
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Tropicalgrower89

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2019, 06:10:47 PM »
My Glenn mango has two large main branches. The more horizontal branch was grafted onto in October of 2017 and the more vertical branches was grafted a few weeks ago. I converted the tree from Glenn to Carrie since it is one of my favorite mangoes and Glenn is just too watery and mild for my taste. Try cutting back one of the main branches and graft onto the new growth, then do the same thing to the other main branch and so on.  You can also just cut it back to the main trunk, but it will take a while for new growth to appear and it will cause the tree to loose it's ability to photosynthesize for a while since there will be no more leaves. 











« Last Edit: November 10, 2019, 06:12:23 PM by Tropicalgrower89 »
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Alexi

simon_grow

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2019, 07:14:41 PM »
Quote from: igrowmangos on November 03, 2019, 03:26:24 PM
I don't want the VP. To me it's a shy tree. Very vigorous but not willing to fruit. Actually, I have many trees and this one seems like it is not wanting to reward me. I will see how it does this season but to me at least it's not worth the trouble. I hope I can find a solution for it but it's not that simple. Digging it out seems like a big job.

I’m surprised your VP is a shy bearer for you. Is there a possibility you are giving it too much Nitrogen? Do you have a lawn in your yard where excess lawn fertilizer may be getting to the VP? Or perhaps your tree may be lacking some minor or trace elements?

Simon
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igrowmangos

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2019, 02:10:09 PM »
TropicalG89 that's some good work there brother congrats! What grafting style did you use?. SimonG that is a possibility I may have to ease up on the nitrogen. If I had to take a guess it would be that I have been pruning the tree for the last 3 years consistently. I held back this and have let it run it's course allowing it to flush and flush. Im going to see if I can get a crop out of it this year (2020). But it is so darn aggressive. When is your last Nitrogen feed for the year done?
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Tropicalgrower89

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Re: Mango Tree Top Work
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2019, 07:34:47 PM »
Quote from: igrowmangos on November 11, 2019, 02:10:09 PM
TropicalG89 that's some good work there brother congrats! What grafting style did you use?. SimonG that is a possibility I may have to ease up on the nitrogen. If I had to take a guess it would be that I have been pruning the tree for the last 3 years consistently. I held back this and have let it run it's course allowing it to flush and flush. Im going to see if I can get a crop out of it this year (2020). But it is so darn aggressive. When is your last Nitrogen feed for the year done?

Thanks! All of them are wedge/cleft grafts, except for one that was veneer grafted.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2019, 11:33:34 PM by Tropicalgrower89 »
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