Mango, the country’s national fruit is considered as one of the finest in the world. It is the third most important fruit crop of the country based on export volume and value next to banana and pineapple. It has an established domestic market and has bright opportunities for the international market both in fresh or processed form. The country’s export variety, The “Carabao Mango” is one of the best varieties in the world.
But in order to harvest enough quantities for commercial purposes, you need to have a large land area to plant the trees. And as we are all aware of, mango trees are big and tall so the the harvesting will require labor cost that might not be feasible or might reduce our profit. And in addition to those disadvantages, harvesting is also time consuming and if we will use pesticides bigger trees will cost you more. So what is the solution then? we have to make trees smaller to reduce the overhead expenses. The following is how you create a dwarf mango tree by the technique of LOW BARK GRAFTING AND PRUNING OF MANGO TREE.
Mango like other tropical fruit trees is propagated by several methods:
- Sexual –through seeds
- Asexual- vegetative methods
Propagation by seeds results to enormous variability in the progenies. Therefore, asexual or vegetative methods are adopted to get true to type plants.
The technique of cleft grafting of mango in the Philippines is very common using tall and overgrown rootstock ( 1 meter high). Now, a new method of grafting is being
introduce called LOW BARK GRAFTING AND PRUNING MAKES MANGO DWARF…
ADVANTAGES OF DWARF MANGO
1. High number of trees per hectare
–India-3m x 2.5 m(1,333 plants/ha)
–Israel-3m x 5 m, 5 m x 8 m(200-600 plants/ ha)
–Thailand-200-600 plants/ha
–Australia-200-1000 plants/ha
3rd Mango Marketing Congress, August 15-16, 2006, Davao City
2. Easier management of trees:
- Pruning
- Pests and Disease Monitoring
- Minimal losses of fruits
- Minimal damage and bruises
- Easier bagging and harvesting
- Efficiency in spraying
So if you wanted to learn how to graft the mango tree, here are steps in Low Bark Grafting:
- Prepare a mango root stock, it’s a mango seedling having a stem big enough to be grafted as shown in the picture below.
- Decapitate or cut the stem leaving about 2 to 20 cm from the ground. Make a thin side cut in the bark so that you can insert the scion to graft it in. Take note that this is different from cleft grafting which is the most simplest kind of grafting where the cut is on the center of the stem. In bark grafting, only the bark should be cut to insert the scion. For more info with regards to grafting, follow this link => Grafting and Budding Nursery Crop Plants
- Prepare the scion and cut the leaves. Only the stem should be left.
- Make a V-shape cut on the end of the scion stem. Insert the scion into the side cut of the rootstock.
- Wrap the joint of the rootstock and the scion tightly using a plastic strip.
- Decapitate the apex to induce branching. Pinch-off the growing point to induce branching.
- After 30 days expose the plants to little sunlight for hardening.
There you have it. It looks simple enough but I think the waiting is the hardest part. But after the many months of waiting it to grow, it will look like the picture below. Maybe after six years it will bear fruit and ready for mango fruit production.
Source: hvcc.da.gov.ph (Dept. of Agriculture, Philippines)
Written by Lito Montala
Lito Montala was an online entrepreneur who enjoys blogging about entrepreneurship and gathering information for his blog to help budding entrepreneurs. You can also reach him on twitter: http://twitter.com/LitoMontala
Like this post? Why not share it with your friends on facebook? Click the facebook share button and share now!
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Im growing 2 mango trees and they are growing pretty fast, they seem healthy. I plan to graft them. Can you give me an idea on where to get the mature tree bud/branch so I can use to graft them with??
Its really good information. i was searching this information from many years. i hope i can also do it.
Pete,
The mature shoot usually pencil size can be used for grafting. When it is mature, the leaves are dark green and shiny.Hope you can find the best shoot.
Thank you and best regards.
Veer
Thanks so much for the info I was always wondering how do they do it now I put hands on practice… Thank You….
Hi,
I have planted 4 mango trees and it is into its 5 year now. Have began to take an interest to care for it now. I discovered that the stem or branches have a lot of stem borers which makes the stems hollow. Any suggestion to cure the trees? Thanks.
Basil,
Shoot borer can be controlled by spraying any insecticide recommended for mango ( Pyrethroids). Spray the insecticide at the onset of flushing or emergence of the new leaves.
Hoping that you will solved your problem.
Thank you.
From Veer Loquias
your idea is kinda good. never thought of that.
i’m from davao city and very much interested in dwarf fruit trees really fascinated with dwarf mango trees and any other dwarf fruit trees available in the market but i dont where to buy them could you please tell me if they’re available here in davao city or from any provinces nearby hope you could help me find them.thanks so much
will these dwarf trees can survive and produce good fruits if i plant them in large plant box?
i have a 6yrs old mango tree in my backyard but it bear 2pcs. of fruit naturally just one’s and never did again, i don’t go for chemical treatment will it bear fruit again? what organic fertilizer can you suggest. thanks so much
Mr. V. Loquias;
What kind of insecticide/fungicide to use in grafting mangoes? I have a 5-year old mango from seed and I want it to bear fruit in two years time. Where could I get a Chocanan from Thailand and Guimaras scion.
I also heard that there is a mixture of fertilizer that makes a fruit very sweet.Is this a proprietary mixture? I tasted one in Sison ,Pangasinan and it is really very…very sweet.Lito Lomahan
Hi there,
We have 30 mango trees in our small farm in Antipolo. I just wanna ask if anyone who knows someone who does contract in mango spraying…? And how much if you can tell? My email: air7210@gmail.com.
Thanks,
Lei, Lito Lomahan,
LOlamarge Fruit Nursery in Mintal, Davao City(Davao-Bukidnon Road are selling Low-bark grafted plants.Chokanan and Guimaras variety are also available.
Potassium Nitrate can be used as foliar spray for flower induction at the rate of 2-3 percent.Chicken dung or Vermicast can be used as organic fertilizer.
VEER
Veer,
Where can I purchase low bark grafted Nam doc mai? just a few pieces. Thanks.
Edmund
i would like to have all information regarding fruits growing
in india
Hi , thank you for this issue ,it shows that you are genius scientist.I,m working in mango grafting ,I want to make Msc thesis in this issue ,please help me ,i beg your pardon.my E-mail is mohannadbashir@gmail.com
Good article. I haven’t really tried so I have a couple of questions.
Can we dwarf any mango variety? While we’re at it, can the same principle applied to most trees?
How’s the survival rate when you do low bark grafting?
Do you also have a feature on how to propogate more mango trees from one tree?
Chris, yes you can control the height of a tree like mango through training and pruning.
Edmund. you can buy Nam Docmai mango from Lolamarge Fruit Nursery located in Mintal, Davao City,besides Petron Gasoline Station.
Training and pruning? Do you mean always cutting off the top part?
Do trees always survive low bark grafting?
I’m in the process of drying a couple of mango seeds. Do they have a chance if the mangoes were stored in the ref?
Dear Basher;
Just contact me in this adress. I have visited India twice in Gujarat and Marahastra. The variety of mango famous in the locality is the Alphonso and Kesar.This varieites are good in quality. I was there to visit the growers of Desai Fruits and Vegetables and Cold Storage in Navsari, Gujarat.That was in the year 2005 and 2006. If you have some inquiries just send your questions. Thank you and more power.
VIRGILIO L. LOQUIAS
How about 4 year trees already planted on the ground. Can we still apply the bark grafting?
Hi! I tried grafting with a mature tree. I cut about an inch deep into the bark (it’s pretty hard). Is that deep enough for my grafted branch to survive?
nagtanim po ako ng 30 ka puno na manga pero di ko alam kung anu ang susunod kung gagawin para maganda ung laki ng mga manga ko, mainit kasi ngaun sa dating palayan ko sya tananim diniligan ko tuwing hapon kalahati ng balde ang dinidilig ko tama ba ung ginawa, magpaturo ako kung kaylan ko sya lalagyan ng fertilizer at anung klasing fertilizer. Maraming salamat
Do Not be Shy. Share Your thoughts!