I have the tied to a bamboo stick, but probably should add more support. The hardest part is the pollination. It seems like flies do the best job.
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No flies welcome in my greenhouse. So far, they havenāt been needed to pollinate anything. I doubt that Iāll need them for mango. But thatās to be determined.
Mango is wind pollinated. At least mostly from what Iāve read. Little wind in my greenhouse. But thatās what a leaf blower does. Two minutes once or twice a day should do the job.
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I believe they are pollinated by various insects, especially species of flies, but some wind pollination may also occur. Some citations:
Effective insect pollination is essential for good fruit set and yield in mango (Mangifera indica L., Anacardiaceae) [39]. Mango flowers are unspecialized, enabling pollination by most insects that are critical for fruit yield [40]. Nectar production for the attraction of insects indicates entomophilous pollination, and mango does not show adaptations for wind pollination [41]. Managed pollinators are unsuitable [42] or insufficient when acting alone [20,43,44]; honeybees are generally not attracted to mango flowers [45,46], and hand pollination is not economically viable [47].
Source: Weeds Enhance Pollinator Diversity and Fruit Yield in Mango
A preliminary pollinator trial was conducted with caged āKeittā trees (Table 4). When no pollinators were present, the yield was negligible, demonstrating the need for pollinators in this productive cultivar.
Source: Mango Pollinators in Israel
Others:
Insect pollinators of mango and their role in fruit setting
So, while you may get some pollination without insects, it seems the consensus is they help a lot with mango fruit set.
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Itās viable for me. And based on the big open flowers it should be relatively easy. My mango area is only 20x20ft.
If they donāt set, fine Iāve got other and probably better options.
If mango are no better than what Iāve bought from FL, they might be gone entirely.
Mangoes are the best fruit Iāve ever eaten by far, when fully/properly ripened. Nothing else comes close to the flavor, though other fruit may get sweeter.
But personal preferences can vary, of course. I do also like stone fruit, but they often seem to be just sweet & tart without the intoxicating complexity of mango. The flavor of a ripe jackfruit can be quite good, but the latex of the skin and the less pleasing texture make it second tier to mango. Iāve never tasted Morus nigra fruit, but Iāve heard people attribute it with similar complexity, so Iām looking forward to my grafts reaching a fruiting size.
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Experiences and preferences do matter. Iād say the same in reverse. Except some of the best stone fruit arenāt just sweet and tart. They have a very complex flavor that canāt be sampled except in person growing your own. Great nectarines may be harder to grow than great mango. I spent 4 years in CA sampling their fruit at every opportunity. Only once did I taste a really great nectarine while I was there. I can still remember the first bite. This after growing my own for 30 years in Texas and never really finding something great.
Maybe I canāt grow a good mango in my greenhouse. But Iāll have way more than enough heat and light plus I can control water. Mango growers in FL often complain about washed out flavor when it rains too much. I can not only have a water deficit I can dial in how much. It certainly works for stone fruit and should for mango.
A lot of this is acquired taste preference. You grew up in FL eating mango. Iād expect someone like that to favor what you grew up with.
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Was that by chance or at a fruit taste testing,like Zaigerās or Dave Wilson Nursery?Did the variety make a difference or maybe the growing procedure?
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Yes, that was at a DWN weekly tasting event at Reedley CA in the heart of stone fruit country. I went every week for two years. Those tastings were commercially orientated. So, they highlighted fruit when it was at commercial picking date. I was always looking for ripe fruit. While driving home one day I bit into a ripe nectarine and said OMG this is what Iāve been looking for.
After setting up my greenhouse back in Texas I was able to find the same flavor. Variety does make a difference. Itās attainable in the Honey series nectarines from DWN. And to a lesser extent in a few of their peaches, like Valley Sweet, my favorite peach.
I need to get the water right to bring out the rich flavor.
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The long journey has finally yielded what I have been waiting for! A perfectly ripe Carrie mango. I havenāt eaten that many mangos in my life, but this one was certain the best! Now I know what people mean when they mention totally fiberless mangos. Great texture and sweetness. It is fair to compare this against excellent peaches. I would still prefer my favorite stone fruit, but this is an exceptional piece of fruit and better than most.
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That may even be slightly overripe based on the dark flesh near the seed, but not by much. Looks delicious nevertheless!
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Marumi kumquat. I am new to citrus and I didnāt realize how long it takes for them to ripen! Very nice though. I planted 2 citrus trees i ground in the greenhouse. I may put a third.
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Much to my surprise I found a fruit on my lemon drop mangosteen! I did t even realize it made a flower. I read that itās takes 5 years to flower, but this is only year 2, so very exciting.
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Phil, i take one half! Sure looks great, enjoy!
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