How do you prune a mango tree? A detailed explanation of the key techniques
Mango is a typical tropical fruit and one that many people enjoy very much, mainly grown in the tropical provinces of southern China. During mango cultivation, orchard management must be done well, and pruning in particular: proper pruning can improve the airiness and light penetration of mango trees and increase their flowering and fruiting rate. So how should mangoes be pruned during cultivation? Below, the editor brings you the pruning techniques for mango trees. Let's take a look!
1. Pruning young trees
The main focus of pruning young mango trees is trunk formation and shaping. When forming the trunk, the height should be controlled according to the planted variety, tree size and soil conditions, generally kept at around 45-55 cm. Then, during the new shoot elongation period or the mature period, select about 4 new shoots growing in different directions, evenly distributed and vigorous as the main branches. When the main branches reach about 45 cm, cut them back promptly to encourage the main branches to branch again, and select 3-4 healthy small branches as secondary main branches. When the secondary main branches grow to about 55 cm, cut them back promptly to encourage lateral branch growth.
2. Pruning trees that have just begun fruiting
Pruning trees that have just begun fruiting should focus on promoting flower and fruit quantity and expanding the canopy. On the premise of ensuring the canopy bears as much fruit as possible, the tree must also maintain good growth vigor, thereby gradually increasing yield. At this stage, remove overly long, overly dense, improperly positioned and crossing or overlapping branches, then pinch or cut back the water sprouts to prevent damage to the original tree shape. After harvest, promptly remove the fruit stalks, then appropriately cut back and retract the fruiting branches in the middle and lower parts of the canopy. For some water sprout-heavy trees with low fruiting rates, cut back the water sprouts, and each pruned branch should not produce more than 3 new shoots; remove the excess promptly.
3. Pruning after harvest
Pruning should also be done promptly after harvest. The main targets are weak-growing branches such as overly dense branches, pest- and disease-damaged branches, and old dead branches. Light pruning should be done every year, then heavy retractive pruning in the third year, usually removing the main branches of the canopy and keeping growth branches from within two years, because such branches have a relatively high fruiting rate. After a new round of fruiting mother branches grows, each branch should not have more than 3 branches; remove the excess branches. Remove crossing branches growing inside the canopy and wipe out unnecessary sprouting buds.
4. Pruning during the growing season
During the growing season, ensure sufficient nutrition to promote flower and fruit growth, prevent excessive shoots from robbing flowers and fruits of nutrients, improve the tree's airiness and light penetration, and ensure spraying is thorough and even. After flowering, remove excess new shoots, then thin out inner-canopy branches, pest- and disease-damaged branches and other branches to prevent excessive nutrient consumption. Keep sun-facing branches to enhance the mango's photosynthetic capacity, then remove drooping branches and branches unable to absorb light. Then remove leaves that would cause fruit injury and affect the fruit branches' light absorption, to prevent effects on fruit expansion.
After pruning, take the cut branches away from the orchard to prevent pathogen invasion, and note that pruning should be done in one clean pass to ensure sufficiently smooth cuts; after pruning, spray disinfectant to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases. Pay attention to pruning intensity: excessive cutback will affect the mango tree's panicle emergence the following year, and pruning too heavily will cause the tree to age prematurely, leading to phenomena such as flowering without fruiting. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!