When Is the Best Time to Plant Mango? A Detailed Guide to Plants per Mu and Planting Methods

Mango, also known as mameng, momengguo, mangguo, wangguo, miwang, miwangzi, and mangguo, is a relatively common tropical fruit in China. It is now grown in many regions, and its price is somewhat high. Sowhen is the best time to plant mango? About how many trees can be planted per mu? How to plant them?

Planting time:

Field planting of mango trees is recommended from June to August. If the plantation has irrigation conditions, planting can be done from September to October. If bagged seedlings are used, planting can be done from March to May in non-arid areas. Mango trees are best planted on cloudy days or before rain.

How many trees to plant per mu?

This varies with local climate, soil fertility and the mango variety chosen. Current planting densities in various places are 5×4 m (33 trees/mu), 5×3 m (44 trees/mu) or 4×3 m (55 trees/mu). To increase early returns, Gengzhongbang recommends initial planting at 4×3 m, and after 3-5 years of harvest, thinning alternate trees in every other row to reach 6×4 m.

Planting techniques:

1. Choose a suitable planting plot

Mango grows best on sandy loam or loam with a south-facing slope, a relatively thick soil layer, convenient drainage and irrigation, and neutral or slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5-7.5). The climate is required to be relatively dry when the mango flower buds are in the differentiation stage.

2. Grafting to replace varieties

To speed up the growth of the scion, grafting to replace the variety can be used so that soil nutrients are fully absorbed. Grafting can generally be done from February to September, with the best period from February to April. If grafting in summer or autumn, pay attention to moisture retention and sun protection; if grafting in winter, pay attention to moisture retention and heat preservation. Before grafting, first saw off the mango tree used as rootstock at a height of 50-60 cm from the ground, split several openings according to the diameter of the cut, then graft the selected scions into the splits. After new branches grow from some stumps, choose 2-4 relatively robust branches for grafting. During grafting, the graft union must be wrapped well to prevent infection.

3. Planting small seedlings

Many orchards sell seedlings with excellent traits, and mango growers can directly choose suitable small seedlings for planting as needed. It is generally most effective in early summer, when there is more rain. Mango grows very fast and the tree is relatively large, so the planting density of mango should be controlled at about 800 trees/hm2. Before planting, dig planting holes 1 m square, mix thoroughly decomposed organic fertilizer 375 kg/hm2 evenly with the subsoil, apply it into the planting holes, and backfill topsoil to a thickness of about 25 cm. For the first 2 weeks after planting mango, water once every 3 d.

4. Flower and fruit management

Mango cultivation has an obvious alternate bearing problem, so to increase yield, measures to promote flowering and protect fruit must be done well. First, thin flowers by removing early flowers in time; second, to improve the number and quality of flowers, choose suitable plant growth hormones for regulation, such as spraying ethephon, which has a certain effect of increasing flowers. Third, apply flower-promoting fertilizer and flower-strengthening fertilizer well.

The fruit set rate of mango is generally relatively high in normal years. To improve individual size and fruit quality, manual fruit thinning is needed, ensuring that only 1-2 fruits are retained per flower panicle, which can effectively increase the unit price of the fruit; if a disaster occurs, then fruit retention is needed, and fruit-retention fertilizer and fruit-strengthening fertilizer should be applied well to increase mango yield. Bagging can improve the smoothness of the mango skin and ensure bright color, so when the average single fruit weight of mango reaches about 200 g, choose special double-layer black paper bags for mangoes for bagging.

5. Post-harvest pruning management

To ensure the next year's mango yield, after the mango harvest, the tree body should be pruned to overcome alternate bearing and cultivate a high-yield, stable-yield tree shape. In principle, branches sprouting from the upper part are heavily pruned to control mango plant height and improve light penetration, while the middle and lower parts are lightly pruned to retain as many branches as possible and encourage new shoots to sprout as soon as possible; branches in the inner canopy are heavily pruned to improve light penetration between trees, while the surface layer is lightly pruned to increase the number of fruiting branches.