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greenthumbon1hand

Help me iron out my mango problems!

Hi,

I have a cogshall mango in a clay pot outside (in Ft. Lauderdale) and it's planted in Vigoro organic potting mix, and I'm pretty positive it has an iron deficiency. A garden center recommended I spray Southern Ag chelated liquid iron on the leaves (so I bought it), but should I pour it on the soil instead? Would that acidify the soil (I've read that if the soil is too alkaline, iron isn't in a form available to the mango)? Is the clay pot contributing to the problem? Also, I dumped in some pellets of 6-4-6 fish and kelp fertilizer - should I scoop those out before I apply the iron?

Thanks!!!

Comments (20)

  • tropicbreezent
    9 years ago

    I'd spray the leaves, it gets into the plant quicker. Fish and kelp pellets shouldn't be a problem but you can over fertilise. Especially in a pot as there isn't much soil to act as a buffer. Balances change more rapidly in a pot. And you can get mineral salt build up if you don't give it a good flush with water now and again.

  • greenthumbon1hand
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks! I actually dumped some in the soil yesterday, so I'll see how it goes, but I'll probably spray if afterwards.

  • gnappi
    9 years ago

    I have been told by a good source that dumping micro-nutrients of any type in the soil is useless. To test it I tried it on a carambola that was slightly affected with chlorosis and nada.

    A foliar spray worked.

  • greenman62
    9 years ago

    " dumping micro-nutrients of any type in the soil is useless"

    from my understanding, it is very dependant
    on what form they are in.

    it does take time also, organics are released into the soil slowly.
    foliar spray is probably the best bet for a fix, but, for long term, good soil should have them in the "normal" organics of the soil....

    I use rock dust, crab, and my "special" compost.

    the compost has coffee grinds, urea/urine, 2lb of milk based protein powder (that was expired.) -a few crushed multi-vitamins, nettle, , spirulina and grass / leaves... :)

    seems to work real good for me.

  • SPENCER57
    9 years ago

    WE HAVE COGSHELL MANGO THAT HAS NEVER PRODUCE IT OVER 10 YEAR OLD NEVER NOT BLOSSOM

  • stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
    9 years ago

    If that Cogshell is a non producer,cut it down. Get something that in three years that you will enjoy.
    If a tree is well known to take a long time to produce..like a Rambutan,then wait. But Mango? You should have been eating fresh Mango since 2010 at least.

    Also,in that pic it looks like the tree has aphid soot all over it. Whatever it is,isn't good.

    This post was edited by stanofh on Sat, Jan 24, 15 at 12:54

  • puglvr1
    9 years ago

    I have 3 Cogshall trees...

  • gnappi
    9 years ago

    I have two sapodilla with sooty mold despite treatment and they produce fruit year round. I also have a suspected west Indian mango that used to live right under a huge avocado that had scale and sooty mold also despite treatment and it fruited profusely.

    Here's two links to read:

    http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/mango/mango-tree-not-producing.htm

    http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74108.html

  • puglvr1
    9 years ago

    I had sooty mold last year on my one Cogshall and unfortunately, most of the fruits didn't make it...just about all the pannicles started to turn brownish and very few blooms were pollinated... the few fruits that survived had black sections on the flesh and didn't ripen well...I treated it a couple of times after that and finally got rid of it and the tree is blooming now...I hope it has better production this year.

    Maybe, there was something else going on other than sooty mold? I'm glad your trees fruiting were not affected by it Gnappi :o)

    Good luck!

  • greenman62
    9 years ago

    i had sotty mold on my satsu8am, and on another orange tree

    i used neem, soap etc...
    finally, i just used the spray nozzle on high pressure...
    cleaned those leaves right up.
    i think it was really starting to effect the photosynthesis

    a hose, lol...
    low-tech solutions sometimes work better.

  • mango mango
    7 years ago

    puglvr1

    I just bought a couple of mango trees about 1.5 m tall in a nursery but
    the upper leaves look kind of yellow while the bottom ones green and ok.
    Do you guys think i am dealing with chlorosis here. What do you think i
    should do? Any help will be appreciated.


  • puglvr1
    7 years ago

    Hi mango mango. That lighter green leaves are "new growths" so don't worry about that. They will darken up as they harden/mature. But, keep an eye on the tips that are drying out...not sure what might be causing it...low humidity, sun damage (not sure what your temps are right now...but if they were grown in a green house and you placed them in FULL sun right away, this might be the cause of the tips burning on the new leaves...lack of water can cause this also. Don't give your young tree too much fertilize...weak solutions are best...at least half the recommended dosage so you don't burn the roots...Best of luck!

    Here's new growths on my mango tree ( taken a few years ago)

  • mango mango
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Thanks very much puglvr1, how come your new leaves are not drying out like mine though your tree is exposed to the sun more than mine. here is 27 centigrades, quite hot and you are right when i bought them they were in greenhouse and i moved them to sun right away. i didnt put any fertilizer though, i only used some foliar molasses spray yesterday as i thought it because of chlorosis or iron deficiency.


    this is another pic from another angle

  • mango mango
    7 years ago

    puglvr1, what about these new shoots burned tips? why do you think that has happened?






  • tropicbreezent
    7 years ago

    With foliar sprays you need to be careful, it shouldn't be done while the temperature is high nor while there's hot sun on the leaves. Although 27C isn't hot for Mangos it's probably too hot for foliar spraying. Best done in the evening when the sun is very low and spray evaporation rate is reduced. Early morning can be okay as well if that's more convenient. And more frequent weak solutions are better than full strength.

    Flushing new leaves have a bronzey colour so I'd say it looks like yours in your first photo are showing signs of iron chlorosis. As already mentioned above, sunburn affects plants if they brought out of shadey/greenhouse conditions into direct sun too quickly. New growth especially is damaged.

  • mango mango
    7 years ago

    thanks

    tropicbreezent,

    am i too late now? refering to the first photo how can i remedy it's situation? do you thinki should draw it in the shade and spray some weak foliar solution in the evening?

  • tropicbreezent
    7 years ago

    Whereabouts are you and what type of climate? Are your trees going in the ground or staying as potted plants?

    You should be able to get chelated iron, it works reasonably quickly as a foliar spray. But it tends to be a bit expensive, although you don't need large quantities. You can get cheaper iron salts, like Ferrous sulphate, mix with compost, allow time to "mature" and then use that. The iron ions (basically iron atoms) combine with organic acids which allow them to be easily taken up by plants. Slower working than a foliar spray but long term can be quite good. The problem occurs a lot in more alkaline soils (high pH) so making your soil more acid (lower pH) can help as well. Most soils already have enough iron but it gets bound up and becomes unavailable to plants.

    I use molasses but never as a foliar spray. The only thing I've heard about that is it's not very effective for correcting iron deficiency.

    With the sun exposure, the damage is already done and new growth will be coming out that is hardened to the sun. So you might as well leave it out anyway.

  • mango mango
    7 years ago

    Thanks tropicbreezent,

    I am in Tirana, Albania, a mediterranean type of climate where temperatures in the summer hit quite high, currently about 26-29 centigrades. as you said i am going to try with Ferrous sulphate first. Mango tree is about 150 cm tall in 20 L pots. i was thinking to apply Ferrous sulphate (in granular form) to the pot perimeter and water immediately near the eveningtime, is that ok or shall i mix it with compost as you stated above>?

  • tropicbreezent
    7 years ago

    In a pot it would be a bit more difficult to apply compost except when you're repotting. Can you check the pH of the soil in your pot? If it's 7 or higher Ferrous sulphate won't be as effective. And giving it a higher dose can cause other problems.

    Where I am it's winter now (starts 1st June). Yesterdays maximum temperature was 35.3C and this mornings minimum was 22.9C. That's very good for Mangos, they do like the heat.

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