The Tropical Fruit Forum

They are probably there in increasing numbers due to your pest issues. Leave the wasps, they should not hurt the fruit or trees. I would focus on plant nutrition, might be deficient if you are getting a lot of scale.

Thanks for the reply. Scale has not been a gigantic issue, but definitely has affected a few trees. I guess I should say my biggest problem would be ants around the base of the trees that protect the scale. I guess scale and ants is a chicken or an egg thing. My thought for the ants is to get more lizards and frogs on the trees

When we moved into our house, there was a  what I am assuming is a jackfruit seedling in the barn. I do not know what it is a seedling of, so I decided to just stick it in the ground. Despite the spot I chose looking like it would not hold water, occasionally after a heavenly rain there will be some minor standing water in the area around the jackfruit. I do not fully know how to diagnose a sick jackfruit, but I am guessing this one is getting some damage from water. There is some dieback on smaller branches and some of the leaves are yellowish with brown specs. The odd thing is the leaves look otherwise healthy and the leaves are standing straight up. There was flowers on it this year and it seems to be growing ok as it kicks out new growth. My question is will it get bigger and the wetness in the area will affect it less, or does it have root rot and will just decline? If it was a known variety, I would be more inclined to see what it does, but I have a few trees that can take its place.

When did you get your Apmay? I put in an order earlier in the year, but have not heard anything

I bought this 3 gallon Guatemalan (G1) mamey from Xain’s world about a month ago. It is doing well and has already kicked out new growth. I am looking to sell or trade because I decided I just don’t want to devote space to another Mamey. I got it from him for $65 but will let it go for $50. Also maybe willing to trade for other fruit trees (been on a jabo kick recently). Located in Vero Beach

I've yet to see a scale infestation that wasn't caused by ants. Scale have few defenses and are preyed upon heavily when ants aren't there to defend them/ spread them around.

If you stop the ants, the scale should cease to be an issue.

I have only occasionally seen a few ants on this particular tree. At one point and time there were ant hills at the base of all the trees, but they seem to have gone away with watering disturbing them. However, what would you recommend dealing with ants?

OK, so my issue is I have a coconut cream mango. That is about 5 feet tall, but it has scale all over it. It’s infested with scale under almost every leaf. Also, it has the resulting black sooty mold.  I have tried to use neem oil with no result. I generally do not spray, but am willing to for acute cases like this.

My trees are spaced at least 20 feet apart, but I seem to have scale that is starting on a nearby Valencia pride, Edward, and keitt. None of these three are as bad as the coconut cream, but it is definitely starting to take hold and they have lost some of their lower canopies (all about 5feet tall)

So what should I do? Should I use a harsh pesticide on the coconut cream and try to treat the others with neem oil? There’s a part of me that just wants to decapitate the coconut cream and rid myself of the infestation, as I worry about it spreading further.

Finally, have you all found that certain varieties are more susceptible to scale? I have a nearby O15 and sweet tart that seem unaffected. I know keitt, Edward, and coconut cream can have disease issues, but I didn’t know if they were more susceptible to scale also. If so, I’m inclined to top work those trees to something more resistant.

So what should I do to treat it, or should I just decapitate the tree and be done with it?

Thank you everyone for all the recommendations. Definitely have some thinking to do. I already have a few questions

Regarding figs. Is anyone familiar with the Celeste variety? There is a local nursery that carries it and I may pick one up. Also, I have been reading say that figs don’t need any more than 100 chill hours. Looking at Vero, it seems we have less than that.  The agroclimate chill calculator does not have a station for Vero but has one for Ft. Pierce which shows 42. So it seems we will be below 100. Is this a problem for fig production?

Kwai muk, anyone know where to get one? Don’t see any available at any places I am familiar with.

Green sapote, same thing, anyone know where to get one?

Wax Jambu, on the growables website it states they will not stand below 44 degrees. Anyone have experience with this? There is a place near here that sells them, so it would be an easy acquisition.

Out of all these suggestions, I like persimmon, pineapple, garcinias, and Scarlet Beauty plum.  I also like macadamia (if you can prevent the squirrels from getting them all), fig (if you don't have a problem with nematodes), and low-chill peach.  Are you sitting on an acre of land?

Yes I am sitting on 5. I am planting a diversity of stuff in the front part, then deciding if I want to grow anything to scale in the back

Ok I have been doing a lot of research to try and find some other fruit trees that will do well here in Vero. I would love to do Mamey, but the common consensus seems do be it gets to cold here for them to do well. I have heard that maybe green sapote could be a more cold tolerant alternative to mamey.

Also a black beauty black sapote is definitely on my must have. Lastly I have thought about guava, but I am on the fence. They aren’t my favorite and the seeds aren’t great on my stomach. Maybe a pink variety or a more seedless variety would be good. Also I have consider ackee, but don’t like the idea of poisonous under ripe and over ripe fruit.

Not looking to get any more of the things I already have, just maybe some ideas on things I have overlooked. Here is what I have so far.

Pitomba
Mangos
Banana
Loquats
Jaboticaba
Pomegranate
Ice cream bean tree
Peanut butter fruit trees
Strawberry tree
Barbados Cherry
Moringa
Sapodilla
Mulberry
Canistel
Ross sapote
White sapote
Custard Apple
Sugar Apple
Cherilata
Atemoya
Avocados
Jack fruit
Star fruit
Lychee
Longan
Caimito
Soursop
Cashew
Thai giant jujube

Perhaps clip a couple of leaves so it’s not transpiring so much?

This actually seemed to fix it!

 have always been intrigued by rowing olives in Florida. I think their good fats would be a good dietary supplement to the good fats of Avocados. However, it seems there can be issues with growing standard Mediterranean varieties in Florida. I recently came across the Chinese Olive (Canarium album) at Incredible Edible Landscapes. Their description is:

“grown in Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Not a true olive, but it is preserved and eaten similarly. Culinary oil can also be extracted. More productive in S. Florida's climate than true olives (Olea sp.)”

Does anyone have any experience growing these? Also do they have the same good fats/taste that regular olives do?

When does Silas Wood produce? I was thinking Makok (May-Nov) season would complement my Alano (Nov-June) season, but I am wondering if Silas Wood would be a better/more productive choice if the season lines up.

Thanks for the info. I have been looking into mamey more. I am curious if you have thought about which 3 or 4 trees would be best to plant to have mamey year round?