How and when to fertilize mango tree

28 Nov, 2020 Fruit 0

The magician is a tropical fruit plant, of which there are dozens of species. Although Mexico is the largest exporter of mango, the plant has its origin in the tropical areas of Asia, being the national fruit of India. The tree is large, being able to reach 30 m in altitude with a crown up to 6 m in diameter. In this article we will study how to use mango tree fertilizer, how and when to fertilize, with what types of fertilizers, and more.

Fun fact: this fruit tree has a long history, so much so that there is data that assures that it has been cultivated for 4000 years. The greatest global expansion of its cultivation occurred between the 15th and 16th centuries, when it began to be cultivated in the Philippines and in South America.

Table of Contents

1. How to care mango tree

As with all plants, they need some care. And being a fruit tree, where we are interested in harvesting rich and abundant fruits, care will be an even more important factor.

Although this post is dedicated to mango fertilization, we want you to know how to keep your plants healthy. So we will start by listing the most important care that should be carried out on your handle.

Climate: the climate you need to develop well is hot and humid. Although there are some species that can with some care endure small frosts down to -2 ° C.

Soil: the soil must be fertile and with good water drainage capacity. If your garden has poor soil, it will need more regular fertilizations.

Irrigation: of course, the regularity of irrigation will go hand in hand with the rainfall regime. But to give you an idea in a hot and quite dry climate during the summer months you will have to water every 3 days. While during the winter a weekly watering will suffice.

Multiplication: it is done through seeds, and to speed up the production process and obtain higher quality fruits, grafting is carried out.

Diseases and pests: as for plangas, the most common are the cochineal, the fruit fly and sometimes the floral moth. While in diseases the fungus is the most common.

Pruning: it is a fruit tree that does not need a great pruning to produce correctly. Simply perform cleaning and maintenance pruning.

Fertilization: depending on the characteristics of the soil, this point may take more or less importance. In the sections that follow we will study in depth everything related to mango fertilization.

2. NPK Fertilizer – Mango tree

We fertilize to add nutrients to the soil, so that later our plant can take advantage of them. But how can we easily know what nutrients the fertilizers we are going to buy contain? That is exactly what the NPK values have been created for.

The NPK values represent the concentration that the fertilizer has of the three most important nutrients for any plant. Each of the three letters represents one of them.

Nitrogen (N): favors the growth of the aerial part of the vegetables (leaves, stems). It is, in part, responsible for the green color of plants and confers resistance to pests.

Phosphorus (P): it is very important in the ripening of flowers, seeds and fruits. It participates in the formation and development of roots and has an important role in resistance to drought.

Potassium (K): it is decisive in the development of the whole plant, it allows the roots and stems to be strong and the seeds, fruits and leaves, large. It provides resistance to pests and diseases, helps the circulation of other nutrients around the plant, and regulates the functions of the plant.

Specifically, each number indicates the percentage by weight of the nutrient in question with respect to the total weight. For example, in a 10-10-10 fertilizer you will have 10% of the total weight of nitrogen, another 10% of phosphorus and another 10% of potassium. If the package is 1 kg, these three main nutrients will occupy 300 g.

3. Best fertilizer for mango tree

The range of fertilizers that can be used in mango plantations is very wide. In any case, we can always make a quick classification between those organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers.

Let’s see below the most common fertilizers that can help you in the task, separating them between organic and chemical or commercial. In general, it is good to carry out a fertilization plan in which a mixed application between chemicals and organic is made, thus taking advantage of the advantages of both.

3.1 Best organic and natural fertilizer

Among the organic fertilizers that we will list are the classics, which can always be useful in almost all our plants. We have selected only three of the most common, although there are many more organic fertilizers that can be used on mango.

Beef manure: When cow manure is properly fermented, it is one of the best sources of nutrients for this fruit tree. It will help develop healthy growths and enhance flowering.

Organic fertilizer: undoubtedly one of the most complete organic fertilizers. It contains a good amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In addition, at the same time that it helps us to fertilize, it allows us to eliminate all the organic remains that we produce at home.

Fish Emulsion: If you don’t mind having a fishy smell around your mango plant, this is a very good option. You can get this compost in a nursery or prepare it at home, you can see that it is easy to do.

If you are reading this post, you will probably be interested in learning about fertilizing these other plants.

Coconut tree

Rhubarb

Passion fruit

Fig tree

Dragon fruit

3.2 Commercial fertilizer

Within the market it is possible to find a wide range of fertilizer formulations for mango tree. There are simple or compound fertilizers, but the important thing is to determine the concentration of nutrients that each one has to know the amount to use of each fertilizer according to the needs of each garden.

Depending on the country where you live, it may be easier or more difficult to get one or the other fertilizer. In any case, these that we will list below are very common, so no matter where you live, you shouldn’t have a problem finding them.

Simple fertilizers with Nitrogen: if you are looking for a good source of nitrogen, it is best to look for Ammonium Nitrate (33.5% N), Urea (46% N) or Ammonium Sulfate (21% N).

Phosphorus: Regarding sources of phosphorus, you can buy simple and triple superphosphate. As its name implies, it is an excellent source of phosphorus.

Potassium: For potassium applications, try to get Muriate of Potassium or KCl (which has NPK values of 0-0-60).

Compound fertilizers: among the compound fertilizers that can be part of a mango fertilization plan are the following; 15-15-15, 12-24-12, 8-46-0.

In the next sections we will see how and when to use these fertilizers.

4. When to fertilize mango tree – Schedule

It is important that the time of application of fertilizers in mango cultivation coincides with the time of greatest demand for the plant. It is immediately after harvest when the plant has used up most of its reserves in the development and maturation of its fruits, so that will be an important time to fertilize. Having to make the first applications of fertilizers to the soil and foliar to supply the tree reserves for flowering, fruiting and initiation vegetative growth.

Great care must be taken with the application of nitrogen since it is the main element responsible for vegetative growth, in addition to being the most unstable element in the soil since it is lost through various routes such as volatilization, fixation, runoff and leaching. It must also be considered that in the period prior to flowering the needs of this element are minimal and its application at this time would stimulate vegetative and non-floral growth, consequently reducing production in the next harvest.

In general, the following recommendation is made: apply 50% of the required elements immediately after pruning and the other 50% apply after flowering once the fruit has set. The micro elements will be applied in three stages, 40% after pruning, 30% 2 months later and the other 30% 2 months after the second application, it is necessary to try that the micro elements are applied in the rainy season.

5. How to fertilize mango tree

For the fertilization program to be efficient in our mango plants, it must be configured based on soil studies, leaf tissue analysis and the productive potential of the crop. From the conjunction of all this information it can be concluded which are the nutrients and in what quantities it will be necessary to apply them to optimize production.

5.1 Important aspects for soil study

The purpose of the analysis is to know the nutrients that will potentially be available in the soil to be extracted by our plants. The foundation for a successful analysis begins with proper sampling.

In mango plants, the time to take samples is after the harvest is finished. Samples should be collected to a depth of approximately 40 cm in the projection area of the tree canopy. In the case of a large plantation, at least 15 different locations should be selected to subsample. This selection must be made in a zig-zag and random way.

All surface debris, weeds, roots, etc., should be removed as they can contaminate the subsamples. Once all the subsamples have been taken, they will be mixed in a bucket. And from it we will extract between 1 or 2 lb which will be the final sample to study.

5.2 Important aspects for foliar analysis

What we are looking for with this analysis is to determine the nutrients that the plant was able to absorb during the season. You should take the samples for this analysis just after flowering, cutting leaves that are about six or seven months old.

The leaves should be cut from the middle of the plant, specifically the middle of the last shoot. For each tree, about 4 leaves should be taken. In large plantations, 20 mango plants will be sampled for each hectare. Once all the sheets have been taken, the sheets that we will send to be analyzed will be mixed and randomized.

5.3 How to apply fertilizers on mango

The fertilizer application method is directly on the soil. You must make the application by means of bands around the plant, leaving a minimum distance of 30 cm from the trunk of the tree, and reaching the end of the part shaded by the crown.

Before starting to apply the fertilizer, the fertilizer application area must be cleared of all weeds. We must also make sure that the soil is quite moist, something that will help better absorption of the elements to be applied.

The doses to be applied vary depending on the age of the plant. Here is a table where you can see how the fertilizer doses vary as the plant ages.

When you only have a couple of plants in your garden, you can do without soil studies. But in that case it is advisable to carry out applications of lower doses than those recommended, being on the side of safety so as not to exceed ourselves.

6. Video about organic fertilizer for mango tree

To finish the post we have selected a video from the Rehoboth Organic channel. This will help you learn how to apply organic fertilizers to mango plants. As a picture is worth a thousand words, I have no doubt that it will be very good for you to see it. 😉