What are the reasons why mango trees fail to flower and suffer reduced yields?
Recently, Pingtung mangoes have gradually hit the market, but it has been reported that mango flowering and fruiting in Fenggang Village, Fangshan Township, fell short of expectations. Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung recently inspected the area with experts and demanded that cash disaster relief for natural disasters be provided, but after the joint inspection team assessed the damage, it did not meet the standards for natural disaster relief
Recently, Pingtung mangoes have gradually hit the market, but it has been reported that mango flowering and fruiting in Fenggang Village, Fangshan Township, fell short of expectations. Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung recently inspected the area with experts and demanded that cash disaster relief for natural disasters be provided, but after the joint inspection team assessed the damage, it did not meet the standards for natural disaster relief.
At present, mango cultivation is dominated by improved varieties such as Irwin mangoes. Among these, Tainan City has the largest planting area, followed by Pingtung. Pingtung's production areas are concentrated in Fangliao Township, Fangshan Township and other places. Because of climate factors, it is also the earliest place in Taiwan where mangoes can be harvested, and they have now gradually hit the market. Although mango growth has generally been good in various places this year, farmers in Fenggang, Fangshan, have reported that the number of flowers is much lower than last year.
Lin Rong-chi, village chief of Fenggang Village, Fangshan Township, said that this should originally be the fruiting period for mangoes in Fenggang Village, but this year the flowers are smaller and fewer in number. The amount of flowering is less than 20% of last year, resulting in poor subsequent fruiting. He also said that within Fangshan Township, the situation in the Fenggang area is more serious.
Mango damage takes many forms. Li Hsueh-ju, associate researcher at the Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station, said that during a recent inspection in Fenggang, she found that growth conditions in some orchards were poor, but the factors were very diverse. Some did not flower, some had poor fruit set, and some were affected by pests and diseases.
Li Hsueh-ju explained that the reason mango trees did not flower is judged to be possibly because mangoes had a bumper harvest last year, causing the production period to end later, while mango farmers in Fangshan are accustomed to pruning after harvest using the "buzz cut" method, leaving only the branches and trunk of the whole mango tree, which caused insufficient time for branch development and prevented smooth flowering. If there is poor flowering and fruit set, the reasons are also very diverse, including pests and diseases, insufficient pollinating insects, and so on. This year, repeated occurrences of "southerly winds" have also led to poorer pollination.
Li Hsueh-ju said that judging from the several orchards inspected on site, mango growth is relatively poor. In addition, with a warm winter this year, she also called on farmers to pay more attention to pest and disease control. Yao Chih-wang, director of the Southern Branch of the Agriculture and Food Agency, also said that follow-up training courses will be arranged through the Agricultural Improvement Station to assist farmers with field management.