The Tropical Fruit Forum

Peat moss is good, but straight peat moss does not have enough drainage. We always included pine bark fines. They are also acid but help promote better drainage.

If you were willing to start from seed, they are all poly.

Quote from: love_Tropic on August 03, 2023, 05:31:14 PM

Disinfecting mango seeds...
Quiet recently when trying to sprout Mango seeds, Stuck with mold/fungus issues, it spreads from one seed to others… For vegetable seeds, normally used Hydrogen peroxide to soak for about 15 min, will it help Mango too? I was told Bleach can help.  Did anyone used bleach? Any other better process?
Mike

I've never had that issue. I use a steak knife on the fuzzy side of the seed pod, saw till I get a good size crack, use my thumbnails to open, rinse the seed off and put it sideways in soil - I don't think I've ever failed to germinate a mango using this method.

You shouldn't let the tree fruit until large enough, with most trees that will be the 3-4 year mark depending on vigor. That said the fruit will not usually impress until year 5-6. Some trees take very long to hit their stride, but in SoCal you can usually know by year 7. This is inland in the foothills, it will take longer by the coast.

Quote from: love_Tropic on July 19, 2023, 10:43:58 PM

Quote from: simon_grow on July 19, 2023, 07:19:44 PM

Lemon Zest can have mono seeds. I’m not sure if the resulting seedling will be a clone or zygotic.

I’ve got both mono and Polyembryonic seeds from Maha.

Simon

Thanks Simon,
Can a LZ Tree produce Mono and Poly seeds? Other 2 Maha seeds are Mono too...

Yes. LZ can produce mono and poly seeds. Most of my Maha seeds have mono seeds but I recently found one with a Polyembryonic seed. It had multiple segments and after some incubation, the multiple segments produced separate roots. I normally wouldn’t grow out a Maha seed but this one intrigued me.

I believe Harry Hausman also planted out a poly Maha seed and he fruited one of the seedlings but if I remember correctly, the seedling that he chose happened to be the zygotic seedling so the fruit was completely different.

Simon

Quote from: love_Tropic on July 19, 2023, 03:40:42 PM

Quote from: spaugh on July 18, 2023, 04:17:54 PM

It doesnt say it attacks persea mites on their page but I am 100% sure these are the right ones, I have used them a couple times and eliminated persea mites here.  If you search for info about persea mites, the californicus is the main predator mite used in avocado orchards. 

https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/products/neoseiulus-californicus-1000-adults-vial?_pos=1&_sid=7b7b47e16&_ss=r

Thanks Brad,
reading more into it... looks like Neoseiulus californicus will be effective when damage is >50% of surface of the leaves. as of now the rate of is about 5%... will it work?

The photo you posted shows a pretty bad infestation.  It doesnt really get worse than that.  Is it just one tree you have?  It came like that from the nursery or did it developed recently, like it came from the neighbors?  Do the neighbors also have trees? 

If its in the area and your tree is fairly large, i would definitely get a vile of predators.  They will spread out and fix the neighbors trees too.  If you just have one small small tree that came that way from the nursery, you might be able to use a horticultural oil on it. 

The predator mites dont really have any downside other than the price.  But i dont thik they cost a whole lot for a small vile.

You can also just ignore it.  It will not kill the tree but it will put a dent in the trees ability to grow quickly since parts of the leaves will become dead and leaf drop will be bad next spring.

It doesnt say it attacks persea mites on their page but I am 100% sure these are the right ones, I have used them a couple times and eliminated persea mites here.  If you search for info about persea mites, the californicus is the main predator mite used in avocado orchards. 

https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/products/neoseiulus-californicus-1000-adults-vial?_pos=1&_sid=7b7b47e16&_ss=r

Quote from: love_Tropic on July 16, 2023, 11:17:32 PM

can anyone suggest good fertilizer for mango trees?
all have diffent NPK ratio and sulfur.  For example Arizona's Best citrus have 12% sulfur and others have 1-3% most of socal soil ph is 7+ and  fertilizer with sulfer good? or adding separately is good?
Thanks,
Mike

The best answer is it depends. If you have heavier soil you will need to add less N and K, and if you have lighter soil you will need to add more. Lighter in the sense that it drains more easily/ holds moisture less.

Being that the trees are being grown in an arid clime, and likely on municipal water sources, the pH is going to climb at some point, and the easiest way to address this is with sulfur. In this case elemental sulfur is the usual choice, as when water is added it begins to dissolve and convert into the highly acidic sulfuric acid, which helps to lower the pH of the water and help balance the pH of the soil. The ultimate goal is to keep the soil pH below the high 8s in order to keep the micronutrients soluble and ready for roots to absorb. If the pH climbs, you will see interveinal cholorosis, which is a common condition, and somewhat detrimental for mangoes. The issue with mangoes in dryer areas like the west is that they produce very few vegetal flushes per year, and those leaves last for up to three years, so having poorly formed leaves which will never improve over time is a huge detriment. If you want pictures, check the mango diseases thread, there's usually a few pics within a page or two.

You will find N and K to be the Macronutrients required to sustain the trees, and Ca will be necessary once fruiting begins, but you may start adding it early, the solubility is poor, so it sticks around. The best form is gypsum, which is readily available, and has a balanced pH which will not worsen the condition of the soil (for micronutrient uptake).

Its persea mites.

You can buy predator mites (californicus) to get rid of them.  Or sometimes they just die off on their own if your area is really hot.  I have had them in the past and they went away this last time on their own.  Just depends if your neighbors have them and what the weather is like. 

If its over 100 in your area, the predator mites will also die.