Mango Growing

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by icjoeyc, Jan 9, 2009.

  1. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    Sadly no:( so I can't do that. It might be fairly happy in my Parent's conservatory over summer though....

    My mango is apparentely a KEITT, which is monoembryonic so apparentely won't produce fruit true to the type. I don't think this matters too much to me as its pretty unlikely to fruit in England but just for interests sake what does that mean exactly?

    Haha we'd never have guessed.....they look like they're doing well though and I wouldn't worry about it, I just planted some mixed cacti and coleus seeds so as soon as they (fingers crossed!) germinate I'll probably be just as bad!
     
  2. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Monoembryonic seeds have a single embryo inside, and produce a single plant, and may not have anything to do with coming true from seed. For example, a hot pepper seed is monoembryonic, and will nearly 100% of the time come true. So is an Avocado pit, and that will only fruit true about 10% of the time. Polyembryonic seeds, like what is growing and developing in this thread, contain a number of identical embryos, and produce identical sprouts. Kind of like humans having identical twins or triplets. Just like human children, the sprouts won't necessarily be identical to the mother plant (since their identity depends on pollination), but they are identical to each other.

    The fact that Keitt mangoes rarely come true from seed has more to do with the way they are grafted etc etc from existing reliable stock, than it does with the seed's being monoembryonic. Same thing as planting a seed from a grafted apple, and getting a whole different fruit.
     
  3. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    Ah so it's not as clear cut as monoembryonic seeds don't seed true and polyembryonic seeds do?

    And what you basically mean when you say something 'doesn't seed true' is that the colour, taste and size of my mango won't necessarily be reproduced exactly in it's offspring because they're never actually grown from seed into a tree on their own without grafting normally?

    Hope I'm making sense here:-S
     
  4. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    That is my understanding of how it works, yes. With mangoes, specifically, the polyembryonic ones have a greater chance of seeding true, but it's not a hard and fast rule by any stretch of the imagination.

    Exactly. The fruiting branch that produced your mango, in conjunction with the rootstock, won't be reproducible from seed, because it's two different cultivars smooked together.
     
  5. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    Okay so it's very species specific...silly site I looked at seemed to suggest that it was a hard fast rule.

    Yay! I understand...thanks for your help:)
     
  6. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    There seems to be conflicting information out there as to whether the seedlings of polyembryonic mango seed are identical to the parent or not. Polyembryonic seed of citrus contain nucellar embryos that are genetically identical to the parent. Such embryos are asexually developed and does not involve pollination. I suspect mangos are the same way but I could be wrong.
     
  7. icjoeyc

    icjoeyc Member

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    I have noticed the base of some of the plants are turning black... what does this mean?
     
  8. icjoeyc

    icjoeyc Member

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    Ok do you remember the black stuff i told you about that was forming at the base of one of the plants.... Well here are some pix.
    I noticed that the leaves are beginning to dry up to. Is this the result of the other plants taking most of the nutrients which is causing this one to die?

    There is a pic of the other plants to thouh and they all have some of this blackish colour at their base but not as bad as this little fella.
    Help?
     

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  9. Joey D

    Joey D Active Member

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    Hmm...doesn't look good, but I'm not very experienced w/ plant pathology. If it turns out to be incurable though, I might try cutting right above there and making a clone. Does anyone else have any ideas?
     
  10. icjoeyc

    icjoeyc Member

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    Ummmm clone? did i miss something?
     
  11. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    Could it possibly be rot....don't want to panic you or anything as all the others look fine. Is it squishy at all? I see that one isn't doing as well as the others, which means it doesn't need as much water, so perhaps the soil is two wet for it around where its roots are?

    That's just a theory and it could well be wrong, lets see what everyone else thinks?
     
  12. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    The other two look fab though so well done on that:)
     
  13. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    They could be suffering from rot, yes. Do a squish-test. If they're soft, you can propagate the plants by cutting above the squishy part, dipping the tip in rooting hormone for fruit trees (available at your local nursery) and then replant into a new pot of sterile soil. Maybe try a soil that has a bit better drainage; as Jen ponts out, it's wet feet that cause this condition.

    If I didn't know you were having a terrible heat wave, I'd suggest putting them outdoors; however they'd just turn into crispy critters for you so it's probably better to leave them inside for now.

    All is not lost!
     
  14. icjoeyc

    icjoeyc Member

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    Well..... to be honest they were outside for the entire heatwave and not only that, they grew allot during it. but I kept them in areas that were shady.
    as for the squishyness... they seem fine, even the one that contains most of the rotted black dent is not squishy. but i must admit during the heat i watered them like crazy.... I still don't know how much i should water a day or if i should even water per day but that is what i have been doing? Can you give me some advice on watering. i think this is my problem.
     
  15. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Water only when they dry out and start drooping; this is what I do during my dry season and they flourish under that regime. Of course, if it happens to rain on them (har har, poor you!) then you don't have to water as frequently.
     
  16. Joey D

    Joey D Active Member

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    Cloning is another name for taking a cutting as lorax suggested, hence a clone would be the new plant taken from a cutting of the old. This is because the two will have the same genetic make up. In your case, the clone would be basically the entire plant minus the roots and base of the trunk. :)
     
  17. Chungii V

    Chungii V Active Member

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    Get rid of that sandy mix and get some decent potting mix, buy the slightly dearer stuff (you get what you pay for with potting mixes). The drainage would not be good enough with what the pot has in it and the soil itself would be contributing to the rot.
    You may have to raise the seedling in the mix when you re-pot. If the seed was a little deep then that is definitely rotting the stem. When you pot it into fresh mix check where the finer lateral (side shooting) roots are coming from and try and make the soil level just above the top of those.
    Keep up the watering it's the drainage problem that needs fixing.
     
  18. icjoeyc

    icjoeyc Member

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    The pot has a good flow when it comes to drainage and the soil that i used is from my backyard.. i didn't use any potting mixes.... I am to scared to take the plant out and put it in a new potting mix because will probably kill it. I know that my problem was over watering.. i will still water liberally but in a moderate way if that makes sense depending on how dry or moist the soil is...
     
  19. Chungii V

    Chungii V Active Member

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    That's the problem though the soil from your backyard will not make good potting mix. The fine texture will hold too much moisture, restrict root growth and development and does not allow even spread of moisture through the pot. Potting mix in pots needs to be free draining, open and porous and kept fresh. I could tell it was just soil from the garden hence my recommending good potting mix :}
     
  20. icjoeyc

    icjoeyc Member

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    Well i will take your word for it because i don't know much but still, i am scared i will kill the plants if i change the potting mix. I mean, i have read that some people tried changing potting mixes and when the did, not long after their plants died.
     
  21. Chungii V

    Chungii V Active Member

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    Just take care to not disturb the main rootball too much and keep as much soil around it without knocking it off. It will be much better off, don't go into a bigger pot though just remove the excess garden soil leaving the main root zone in garden soil. You should have at least 1/2 new mix in the pot, make sure there's a good couple of centimetres in the bottom of the pot before replacing the plant. Like I said earlier check the height of the sideways growing roots and leave the soil a couple of mm above the top of those so the stem is not buried.
    It will be fine just don't let it get too knocked around too much by the ridiulous temps down there at the moment.
     

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