My 7-year old mangoes in Bacong has been infested with insects and all the flowers didn't set for fruits. I pruned it and sprayed insecticides but it keeps on coming back. Any advice would be much appreciated.
You have to shoot the flower buds with an insecticide called "Bushwack", then, as soon as you see the baby bud of a mango get the newspaper wrap on it until harvest. Sometimes a hard rain at the wrong time can break all the flowers off and ruin that trees crop of fruit.
You can ask around your neighborhood. There are people who specialize in wrapping each mango with newspaper. You can't do this of course. There are native boys who are experts in this. You just have to ask your neighbors and I am sure they will be able to give you referrals.
Flowers you need not to wrap yet. To drive away the insects just burn every now and then, grasses and cuttings from your garden to produce smoke. Do not worry, we are in the Philippines and so we have no problems with air pollution! (just do not burn tires and plastics - you will make your neighbors sick and mad). Coconut husks are non-smelly and produce good smoke!
I did asked my neighbours but they have no problems with their mangoes and said they have no idea. I went to DA in Dumaguete and asked me to check in Bacong DA itself...but it's I'm always wrong timing everytime I visited the office...they're on field trip. The insects are attacking on the new young leaves...I tried to smoke it but once stopped it comes back again. I got more than 50 mango trees and all were infested. Anyway, thanks a lot guys for your time, I really appreciate that.
Have you tried catching some of these 'insects' and see what they really are? I think they are just the normal fruit flies and we do nothing about it really. Try to check PCARRD Recommends for Mango Production. You may want to google it or try to check a copy from the DA office or at the Silliman University College of Agriculture. Have a good harvest! P.S. Are your mangoes grafted?
Try this site Hi jpancho, not sure, if you have found the answer, to this problem yet But I found this site, it may be of use to you. Best of Luck www.informationfact.com/mango-cultivation Jack P.
In extreme situations, Malathione is the way to go. Most, if not all Ace Hardware stores carry it, but you may have to ask for it because some stores keep it in a back room. The reason is unknown to me, but some do keep it out of the public eye.
jpancho... sounds like a case of survival of the fittest to me; evidently you're trees aren't the healthiest and mother nature wants only the strongest/healthiest specimens for the gene pool so she's sent in the ''bugs'' to take down your trees. some people, including me : ), believe that healthy plants don't get ''bugged'' or have less bug problems, so i suggest that you get a soil test and look into the soil nutrition. ¡¡¡buena suerte!!! norm : ))~