Mango Pests, Diseases, and Nutritional Problems

[McRysh]

Hey guys, I might have a problem with my 8 months old mango tree, since november the tips have been turning brown, first only on few leaves and then it suddenly stopped spreading. But now in spring more and more tips are turning brown including the new leaves, which are now looking kinda weird. I tried to cut off the brown tips to stop spreading, but it didn't help, also googling didn't give me any solution. Here are some photos, I'd appreciate any help. Thanks

[pineislander]

Hey a friend sent me this picture saying that all of his mango trees had the same appearance. At first I assumed he was watering with some salty or highly chlorinated water. After some mopre questions it turned out he had used borax on the trees after a soil test showed low boron. Turns out the symptoms seen match boron toxicity perfectly. So, beware using borax on mango and be aware of the toxicity symptoms shown.

[mangoba]

DM,
What kind of soil were those mangos planted in?

That's exactly my thought! My very high pH calcareous soil makes mangoes look like this unfortunately.

[Guanabanus]

PineIslander,
Yes.  We have also done that using palm fertilizer on potted mangos, with 0.22% B.

[Guanabanus]

McRysh,
Looks good enough.

Maybe it has some urea in the soil mix or in the fertilizer--- and no Nickel, so can't make urease enzyme.

[samerd]

I recently planted a few Mangoes and for some reason my Orange Sherbet is the only one that started to get dried out crisp and folded leaves. I watered it plenty too. So, I decided to replant a few feet away because there were a lot of fertilizer granules in the hole (from the pot). But any idea what this could be? There’s a before and after of the tree, really hoping it makes it

[Guanabanus]

Check with a magnifier lens, for mites. 

Or it might have phytophthora root rot.  The stems already look shriveled.

[dm]

DM,
What kind of soil were those mangos planted in?

I have a thin top layer of regular black-ish soil, but below that I think it is marl, but yard is built up a bit to lift house, so there is some fill (asphalt, etc) in other areas.  But I only encountered black soil, marl & rock when planting.  Big avocado grew in the yard for decades, and neighbor also has a big mango tree, so I thought it would be ok.

[Guanabanus]

Did you add potting soil or compost to the planting hole?

[fliptop]

Yikes, after reading Har's post above, I'm afraid a couple of our newer trees have phytophthora root rot. Our Pineapple Pleasure's leaves started wilting, turning yellow, drying out, and then falling off. Literally every leaf fell off. It also seemed like the stem/trunk was shriveling, so I cut it back to what seemed like a good point. Now the top of where I made the cut is turning brown. I thought these issues stemmed from the freezes and the recent heavy winds and drought, but now think its phytophthora root rot. What do you think? And if it's root rot, what can be done? Here's the PP prior to the leaves falling off:

Thanks!

[Guanabanus]

Stresses, such as cold soil and droughts, certainly make roots less able to fight off infections.

[fliptop]

Makes sense, Har. What would you advise for the patient? Thanks!

[Guanabanus]

Perhaps hydrogen peroxide, diluted to 0.25%.  One and a half to two gallons of mix poured onto one square foot of the soil.  Weekly, until corrected.

Example:  11 pints of water (same as 1 gallon + 1 quart + 1/2 quart) plus 1 pint of drugstore 3% hydrogen peroxide.

If you buy a concentrate somewhere, remember that the concentrate can cause immediate blindness if it splashes in your eyes,
severe skin burns, or holes in your cotton clothes.

[Jose Spain]

Planted last year, a graft from this young tree is putting out a normal looking panicle, but these rootstock shoots clearly have some problem. It seems like a deficiency but I don't know what it is. Any idea what could it be? Thanks.

Jose

[fliptop]

Thanks, Har, for the recommendation and the mix (I don't think my non-mathematical mind would have ever figured out that recipe), as well as the safety warning. I will be wearing eye protection. Always grateful for your advice.

[Guanabanus]

Jose',
Probably cold-soil-induced deficiencies, of Calcium, Sulfur, Zinc, Iron, etc.  Red spots may be from thrips or from micro-mites.

[dm]

Did you add potting soil or compost to the planting hole?

No, I did not add anything in the hole when planting. I dug a hole, put the plant inside and filled the spaces with the native soil I dug out. Then I spread 1 bag of Home Depot "compost with manure" (not Black Cow) on top and 3 bags of cypress mulch (both away from the trunk).
Thank you

[Jose Spain]

Jose',
Probably cold-soil-induced deficiencies, of Calcium, Sulfur, Zinc, Iron, etc.  Red spots may be from thrips or from micro-mites.

Thank you very much, Har. Indeed, since the beginning of March we have been experiencing unusually cool and quite rainy weather. Thanks for your answer.

Jose

[Nuraxi]

This Kensington Pride, after having spent its third winter planted on the ground, is now like this, usually in June it is already beautiful and recovering well, it has always suffered a bit of black spot and anthracnose towards the end of winter , especially on the finer branches, in the photo a sprig affected, I have already cut and disinfected with copper oxychloride, every now and then it suffers a little from ferric chlorosis, maybe it also has some other deficiency, I grow it in organic, every now and then I give micronutrients and macros through the leaves, it is the only one mango, that manifests these problems, I also thought of grafting on something else in the future, the rootstock is a Gomera3, what do you think? ..

[Guanabanus]

Nuraxi,

Looks complicated.

I recommend that you get a soil analysis and a leaf tissue analysis, testing for all the known plant nutrients, in each sample, including Sodium (Na) and Chloride.

[Victoria Ave]

Hi all,

I have a weird die off at the very top of my fruiting Valencia pride mango tree. I noticed shriveled branches and crispy leaves on one section after a couple very bright warm days. I snipped that off but noticed what looked like the same forming in the other top branches. There were fruitlets but I let them be. Now all the growth above it is doing the same. Any ideas what has caused this. This is all above where I haven’t gotten new growth in years. Should I cut it all off above my healthy growth then throw my 30% shade cloth over it before our summer really gets going?

Thanks

[Nuraxi]

Nuraxi,

Looks complicated.

I recommend that you get a soil analysis and a leaf tissue analysis, testing for all the known plant nutrients, in each sample, including Sodium (Na) and Chloride.

Thank you very much Guanabanus,  I will post a full photo of the plant later…

[Calusa]

Hello - My young mango trees don't appear to be putting out typical robust new growth since I removed the blooms a couple of months ago. The first photo shows the Maha Chanock, with one new growth appearing only a couple of weeks after I removed the blooms, but is stunted. It's been that size for over a month. The 2nd photo shows the growth buds that began appearing a month ago. They are very slow to pop out.




The next photos show my Glen Mango with some peculiar growth -  one photo shows one new growth growing downward, the others just very tiny and weak looking. Maybe I'm a overly concerned but need some opinions. I have fertilized these trees with a good mango/citrus fertilizer with micronutrients, and keep them watered in between the infrequent rains in West Central Florida this Spring.

[Guanabanus]

Victoria Ave,

A Valencia Pride that doesn't produce vegetative flushes for several years?  Very unusual!

What type of soil is it growing in?  Types of fertilizer?  Source of Calcium?  Frequency and amount of water?  Weather?

[Victoria Ave]

Hi Har,

Last year was the first year I got good flushes (about 4 flushes)I’ve noticed them growing from lower on the tree. The very top got badly roasted a couple years ago when we had a 116° day and has been kind of hanging in there but every year I would have to remove branches.

Soil is clay. Based on research I did years ago I built a 4x4 planter out of redwood fence panels and mixed some native clay but also raised bed mix and sunshine #4 to make a fast draining soil. It is irrigated by in-line drip tubing coiled around the tree. This morning I proved around and found that not very close to the dropper the soul was significantly drier even though the irrigation ran last night (42 gallons over 6 hours, set to run every 5 days right now.)

I believe a culprit lately has been our winds. It hasn’t been that hot, but the wooden slats with gaps and the loose soil could dry out easily with the winds we get here. Also my trees in clay do quite well with the drip emitters because the moisture spreads more evenly over distance. In the raised planter it just goes down quicker. Today I thoroughly wetted the entire root zone with a hose. I read a study on Pakistani mango growing on drip and they reported that soaking the entire root zone once a month brought tree production closer to flood irrigation. So I will monitor.

Last year I gave my trees citrusgain once a month and they responded well. This year I’ve used to coated oscomote on my non fruiting trees and this year on the Vp just been using a drench of fish and kelp emulsion and humid acid kelp concentrate that works out to about 2-1-9. Trees get applications of pelletized gypsum and iron/sulfur in spring and fall. I should spray with Southern Ag citrus spray as I haven’t since right after harvest

Summers here average very hot (90-100) and UVis intense and I’ve found this tree to thrive under 30% shade cloth. But maybe I’m not irrigating enough? Last year was good growth with increased irrigation.

Sorry for the novel and thanks for you time