20 Years Old Mango Trees

[GungaDin]

I have some 20 yo mango trees bearing fruit but not a lot.

What can I do to increase the yield?

Pruning?

What else?

TIA.

gd

[drtreelove]

I have some 20 yo mango trees bearing fruit but not a lot.

What can I do to increase the yield?

Pruning?

What else?

TIA.

gd

An integral approach. Pruning can help, if done properly, but not alone; irrigation, soil fertility/fertilization, pest control, etc must be considered. It may take a couple of years to rejuvenate the productivity of the trees. But it's possible to see a difference in the first year.

Prune soon after the fruit harvest, but not back to stubs like many people do. Take out 20 to 25% of foliar canopy maximum, by thinning cuts, or drop-crotch pruning, not heading (stub) cuts. This will stimulate more growth for the next season, allow air and light circulation, but not eliminate all leaf surface. Leaf surface = photosynthesis and carbohydrate manufacture that is needed for growth, flower and fruit production. Stubbing the tree (hat rack style) sets it back too much and creates excessive shoot growth, poor structure and potential for more breakage in the future; it also sets you up for increased maintenance with over-crowded foliage that needs to be thinned frequently.

Finding the right help to do this pruning will be the trick. If if you are in Chiang Mai area PM me for a recommendation. If you are up for doing it yourself I can give you some more pointers.

The warm wet growing season will produce a lot of new growth if supported by good water and nutrient availability. New growth that is produced this year after you harvest and prune will produce more flowers and fruit the following season.

Irrigate during the dry season. Not a sprinkle, but flood the entire root zone under the foliar canopy and beyond the dripline (outer circumference of foliage) if possible; from January, once every 10 - 14 days until harvest. The monsoon season usually produces enough water, but if not then water as needed so as not to allow drought stress.

Reduce competition for water and nutrients by controlling grasses and other growth in the tree root zones. Legumes grown as green manure can be an exception as they won't rob soil nitrogen. Cut and leave lay as mulch, but don't till because it damages a large percent of the fine absorbing roots near the surface. Mulch if you can, and if you are not a strict organic grower, consider a one time application of 15-15-15 chemical fertilizer to boost fertility until your soil fertility building makes some headway. If you have availability of manures then that would be preferable. Spread the manure then mulch on top of it with rice straw or other organic matter.

A soil analysis will give you a better picture of what is lacking in your soil plant nutrients. But I will bet that a soil test will show low organic matter content and low nitrogen among others. All correctable with a soil fertility building program.

Some grasses and weeds will poke through your mulch, keep on top of it with weekly spot herbacide treatment or preferably pull or dig them and leave the upturned roots to dry out on top of the mulch.

Don't pile mulch or soil against the tree trunks like the mis-informed practice that is so common in this country. The root collars (root flare area at the base of the tree trunk) should be clear and aerated to allow drying out between rains or irrigation. Piling material against the root collar and stem creates conditions for root collar disorders like fungal and water mold diseases and termite infestation.

Start now if you haven't already, to bag the fruit for protection against fruit fly infestation.

Got to go now, hope that helps, if I think of anything else or you have any questions we can post later. Don

[Billmango]

I have some 20 yo mango trees bearing fruit but not a lot.

What can I do to increase the yield?

Pruning?

What else?

TIA.

gd

An integral approach. Pruning can help, if done properly, but not alone; irrigation, soil fertility/fertilization, pest control, etc must be considered. It may take a couple of years to rejuvenate the productivity of the trees. But it's possible to see a difference in the first year.

Prune soon after the fruit harvest, but not back to stubs like many people do. Take out 20 to 25% of foliar canopy maximum, by thinning cuts, or drop-crotch pruning, not heading (stub) cuts. This will stimulate more growth for the next season, allow air and light circulation, but not eliminate all leaf surface. Leaf surface = photosynthesis and carbohydrate manufacture that is needed for growth, flower and fruit production. Stubbing the tree (hat rack style) sets it back too much and creates excessive shoot growth, poor structure and potential for more breakage in the future; it also sets you up for increased maintenance with over-crowded foliage that needs to be thinned frequently.

Finding the right help to do this pruning will be the trick. If if you are in Chiang Mai area PM me for a recommendation. If you are up for doing it yourself I can give you some more pointers.

The warm wet growing season will produce a lot of new growth if supported by good water and nutrient availability. New growth that is produced this year after you harvest and prune will produce more flowers and fruit the following season.

Irrigate during the dry season. Not a sprinkle, but flood the entire root zone under the foliar canopy and beyond the dripline (outer circumference of foliage) if possible; from January, once every 10 - 14 days until harvest. The monsoon season usually produces enough water, but if not then water as needed so as not to allow drought stress.

Reduce competition for water and nutrients by controlling grasses and other growth in the tree root zones. Legumes grown as green manure can be an exception as they won't rob soil nitrogen. Cut and leave lay as mulch, but don't till because it damages a large percent of the fine absorbing roots near the surface. Mulch if you can, and if you are not a strict organic grower, consider a one time application of 15-15-15 chemical fertilizer to boost fertility until your soil fertility building makes some headway. If you have availability of manures then that would be preferable. Spread the manure then mulch on top of it with rice straw or other organic matter.

A soil analysis will give you a better picture of what is lacking in your soil plant nutrients. But I will bet that a soil test will show low organic matter content and low nitrogen among others. All correctable with a soil fertility building program.

Some grasses and weeds will poke through your mulch, keep on top of it with weekly spot herbacide treatment or preferably pull or dig them and leave the upturned roots to dry out on top of the mulch.

Don't pile mulch or soil against the tree trunks like the mis-informed practice that is so common in this country. The root collars (root flare area at the base of the tree trunk) should be clear and aerated to allow drying out between rains or irrigation. Piling material against the root collar and stem creates conditions for root collar disorders like fungal and water mold diseases and termite infestation.

Start now if you haven't already, to bag the fruit for protection against fruit fly infestation.

Got to go now, hope that helps, if I think of anything else or you have any questions we can post later. Don

[Gary A]

My wife had one of our mango trees severely cut back last year and this year it does not have a single mango.Since then we have cut down two of the old trees that no longer were producing.

[Billmango]

Can you tell me what drop crotch pruning and heading (stub) cuts are. I am beginning to take an interest in my wife's mango farm partly because it has been a poor year and a lot of the crop has been lost primarily due to weather factors. in this respect i understand that once the mango has been formed and is hanging from the stock windy conditions can cause the stalk to break. i wondered whether there were any other plants trees you can surround the mango trees to act as a kind of wind break. thanks bill

[JungleBiker]

Can you tell me what drop crotch pruning and heading (stub) cuts are. I am beginning to take an interest in my wife's mango farm partly because it has been a poor year and a lot of the crop has been lost primarily due to weather factors. in this respect i understand that once the mango has been formed and is hanging from the stock windy conditions can cause the stalk to break. i wondered whether there were any other plants trees you can surround the mango trees to act as a kind of wind break. thanks bill

Hi Bill,

I can guess that drop crotch pruning is what is also called a bench cut. It means you cut a branch back to a smaller side branch, so that the smaller side branch then replaces the main branch. This cut is useful for reducing the size of a tree and also for directing growth outwards to produce a more spreading rather than taller tree. A spreading tree capture more sunlight to make more efficient use of your land. Shorter trees are easier to harvest.

Heading means you just cut the end of a branch off to force side buds to grow into new side branches - to make the tree more bushy. You might cut just a few inches/cms (light pruning/tipping) or you might make a more severe heading cut, depending on what results you desire.

The other basic pruning cut which you didn't ask about is the thinning cut, whereby you cut out a branch completely at the point where it attaches to the branch from which it originated. But leave the collar (the thick rough bit at the end of the branch where it's attached to the tree - this will enable to wound to heal more quickly). Thinning cuts allow more sunlight into the tree so that you can get fruit inside rather than the outside of the canopy. Also used for removing dead/diseased wood.

Best regards,

JB.

[JungleBiker]

I have some 20 yo mango trees bearing fruit but not a lot.

What can I do to increase the yield?

Pruning?

What else?

TIA.

gd

Hi Gungadin,

A common reason for no fruit is that mango leaf hoppers destroy the flowers. If around flowering time you noticed lots of black sticky leaves then that was the sooty mould growing on the sweet excrement of the leaf hoppers. A couple of insecticide sprays about 7 - 10 days apart) just before flowering usually solves the problem. For non-chemical treatments see:

http://www.oisat.org/pests/insect_pests/ho...eafhoppers.html (see menu on left side of the page)

Best regards,

JB

Edited March 25, 2009 by JungleBiker

[soidog2]

I have some 20 yo mango trees bearing fruit but not a lot.

What can I do to increase the yield?

Pruning?

What else?

TIA.

gd

I hope this gives you some encouragement.

This is a collage of a few of my old mango trees in their second year after a drastic haircut.

They were a mess , unmanageable, too tall ETC.

Like the Dr. says , together with proper care you’ll gave good harvest !

By the way , pruning is an art , whoever does it must have an eye for it.

If not ……….

[drtreelove]

I can guess that drop crotch pruning is what is also called a bench cut. It means you cut a branch back to a smaller side branch, so that the smaller side branch then replaces the main branch. This cut is useful for reducing the size of a tree and also for directing growth outwards to produce a more spreading rather than taller tree. A spreading tree capture more sunlight to make more efficient use of your land. Shorter trees are easier to harvest.

Heading means you just cut the end of a branch off to force side buds to grow into new side branches - to make the tree more bushy. You might cut just a few inches/cms (light pruning/tipping) or you might make a more severe heading cut, depending on what results you desire.

The other basic pruning cut which you didn't ask about is the thinning cut, whereby you cut out a branch completely at the point where it attaches to the branch from which it originated. But leave the collar (the thick rough bit at the end of the branch where it's attached to the tree - this will enable to wound to heal more quickly). Thinning cuts allow more sunlight into the tree so that you can get fruit inside rather than the outside of the canopy. Also used for removing dead/diseased wood.

Best regards,

JB.

JB you got it right, except that drop-crotching is just an older term that means the same as thinning cut as opposed to a stub cut; dropping back to the crotch at the origin of the branch to make the cut instead of cutting mid-way and leaving a stub. It is used not just for encouraging spread of the branch structure, although that could be one objective, it can be used to reduce the height and/or spread of the crown without leaving stubs. This technique achieves a thinner foliage canopy rather than creating a thicker canopy that would result from stub cutting.

An example is, if you had a shrub in front of you that is getting too tall and you want to reduce it, there are two ways, one is to shear it; it puts out multiple sprouts and gets thicker and thicker as time goes on, typical hedge pruning. But the other way, to try and preserve a more natural look and less dense outer foliage, is to reach out and take hold of the tallest foliage, follow that tall branch down inside and cut it at the crotch, leaving the shorter foliage. This thins and reduces height at the same time and leaves a more natural look, and allows light inside the canopy to keep the interior foliage alive. The results of shearing eventually shades out all the interior growth.

I'll look for some graphics and post later.

[GungaDin]

I have some 20 yo mango trees bearing fruit but not a lot.

What can I do to increase the yield?

Pruning?

What else?

TIA.

gd

Hi Gungadin,

A common reason for no fruit is that mango leaf hoppers destroy the flowers. If around flowering time you noticed lots of black sticky leaves then that was the sooty mould growing on the sweet excrement of the leaf hoppers. A couple of insecticide sprays about 7 - 10 days apart) just before flowering usually solves the problem. For non-chemical treatments see:

http://www.oisat.org/pests/insect_pests/ho...eafhoppers.html (see menu on left side of the page)

Best regards,

JB

JungleBiker

I think you've hit the nail on the head.

When I moved in, in mid Jan, the trees were dripping with sticky stuff and it was flowereing time.

These are suburban trees, 30 ft high. I'll get the spray after pruning.

Thank you!

Don,

any images or links would be appreciated, that crotching sounds painful.

I did bring a huge 2" lopper with me from Aus and a crescent saw.

BTW, thanks for your kind offer, but I'm 30kms West of BKK

SD2

Tree pruning sounds like a black art, any more images welcome, thanks for the collage.

One more question: Which month is the best time to start pruning?

Thanks again guys.

This forum & the DIY Housing forum, would be the best on TVisa, no idiots, and flame free, just people helping other people!

BTW, the fruit is for give-aways, the kids 'round here always ask if they can have some fruit, so do the neighbours, so the fruit is a great way to keep in sweet with the mob around here.

One lady trades cakes for my mangos.....

Personally, I find the mangos here, tasteless.

I'd kill for a "Kensington" or the new "Calypso" from Qld!

john

[toybits]

Pruning rejuvenates the tree and makes harvesting easier. Production will be reduced somewhat because you will have less fruiting branches.

[soidog2]

One more question: Which month is the best time to start pruning?

Pruning would start after the last harvest, hopefully, already raining. ( this year you had no fruit, start around July/August )

If your trees are "suburban" probably not a good type, not worth the spent energy.

Just spray them before the flowers open and once more for the fruit fly, when the fruit is about pea to olive size.

You’ll have plenty of fruit !

A tree ripened mango (like "Rat" or "Nam Dogmai") should explode with flavor when eaten.

Our customers start asking for the mangoes in January when the flowering season is just starting !

Regards

Edited March 26, 2009 by soidog2

[OZEMADE]

I noticed in Nth Queensland on the Mango farms, that they were cutting a cone into the top centre of the mango trees the same as an ice cream cone. I asked why and was informed that this increases the yeild on the tree. In other words you get fruit on the outside as normal and fruit on the inside of the cone as well. Makes sense to me.

[JungleBiker]

Check this out... "Pruning strategies to maximize tropical mango production from the time of planting to the restoration of old orchards"...

http://www.aalfs.org/descargas/7.pdf

[wagner54]

Check this out... "Pruning strategies to maximize tropical mango production from the time of planting to the restoration of old orchards"...

http://www.aalfs.org/descargas/7.pdf

Great link

Thanks