Mango Tree Care

Mango, is not called the 'king of fruits' for nothing. Luscious, juicy, delicious, sweet, tasty, I could go on, but I am sure by now you get the picture about this fruit. Native to the Indian shores, mango is one of the most widely cultivated fruit in many tropical and subtropical regions. It belongs to the genus Mangifera, and family Anacardiaceae, consisting of many species of tropical fruiting trees and plants. In Asian countries, it is not only regarded as a fruit meant for consumption but has religious values attached to it, no offerings made to the Indian deities is complete without the mango fruit and leaf.

Mango Tree
This tree can grow up to 30 to 45 feet in height with a crown spread of 30 to 40 feet. This fast grower has a rounded canopy, which is very dense, making it an excellent evergreen shade tree too. It is a very sturdy tree, with the taproot branching into two or four major anchoring taproots, with plenty of more fibrous finer roots. The changing colors of the mango leaf makes for quite an interesting watch. New leaves sprout in a group of 10-20 leaves. Very glossy and bright green in appearance, change color from a brown to red to purple and back to a dark green. The shades of these colors give away the variety of the mango fruit to an experienced eye. The leaves are evergreen, placed alternately, are simple, about 10-35 cm long. Flowers are borne on terminal inflorescences and in hundreds, with the hermaphrodite and male flowers blooming together. Of these hundreds, it's just a few that develop into the mango fruit; sweet to tangy, oblong and long with variable lateral compression, yellow-golden to deep reds, mangoes come in varied sizes.

Caring for Mango Trees
Mangoes can be propagated through seeds and by methods of grafting fruit trees. Although seeds germinate quite fast and with vigor, in most cases it has been recorded that the fruits of seedlings do not resemble those of the parent tree in quality, size and yield. Most cultivators prefer the grafting method. Your local nursery will have a wide variety of mango trees that will fit perfectly well into your landscape, big or small. Many new cultivars are being developed to be dwarf fruiting trees. So bring home the one you would love to pluck and eat.

Mango trees thrive in full sun, so choose a sunny spot. A mango does not like to be moved too often, so choose your spot wisely keeping in mind its eventual size and spread. Mangoes being tropical need full sun to do well and bear good quality fruits. A sunny spot will be useful in places where it gets too cold. Dig a hole deeper four inches than the size of the root ball, height and width wise. The optimum soil range is pH 5.5-7.5. A note about pulling the mango sapling out of its container. NEVER pull it out by holding the stem, the sudden jerk will shock the roots, killing the plant in few days of planting it. Cut the bottom and sides of the container, carefully pulling it apart, and place the entire content with the soil intact in the hole. Back-fill the soil with part organic compost and some peat moss. Make sure the root ball is just a couple of inches above the soil, once it has been settled down with water. Build a berm around the tree, and fill it with water.

These trees are fond of moisture, so water every alternate day for the first couple of years. You can decrease the frequency of watering the tree during the winter season. The root ball should be kept moist at all times, not logged. For the first couple of years, use only organic fertilizer, after which the fertilizer should be nitrogen based to promote healthy foliage and flower production. Feed the mango before the flowering season commences. Fish emulsion and bone meal is also a popular fertilizer for an established mango tree.

Pruning fruit trees like that of a mango, is done to increase yield, improvise on air circulation and control the pest an diseases. How and when is essential to the crop, as done properly and on time will result in vigorous vegetative regrowth. There are no fixed pruning rules, a young tree is shaped to give it a good structure which will enable the tree to carry a heavy crop. For established trees pruning is not essential every year. Pruning can be done after the harvest or before the flowering season commences. As the tree is very dense, prune to open up the tree to facilitate free movement of air and sunlight, which is needed to enhance the color and quality of the fruit, and control pests and diseases. Most infections die off because of good sunlight penetration.

Mango's can't bear frost, especially the young trees. Cover whatever possible with a frost cloth, mulching around tree and placing a light frost cloth canopy over the tree will save the tree from frost. However, permanent damage can occur at 32 degrees F or below.

Humans are not the only ones who have a taste for this fruit, a wide range of insect, pests and diseases affect it, and grazing animals eat away the young leaves, flowers and even the fruits. The squirrel especially for some unknown reason drills holes into semi-ripened mango fruits, and moves on to the next one. Fruit flies and bugs spot the fruit and tree alike with blank sooty mold. Certain species of borer can bring a mighty mango tree down in less than a couple of months. Most of these pest and diseases can be controlled with pest management and judicious use of fungicides, germicides and bactericides.

So there we have it, most details about good mango tree care to ensure that you have access to fresh mangoes to make your yummy juices, desserts, or to just eat the fleshy scoops.