Sunday, December 10, 2000		Garden Life

WE start taking care of the mango tree only when we find it not bearing fruit or dropping prematurely. Most of the time the damage is already done even before plant protection measures are taken. The danger starts lurking in the form of insects and diseases that attack the tree well before the actual flowering and fruiting takes place. You may think the mango does not grow during winters but even then it is vulnerable to many dangers. Let us nip the evil in the bud.

The damage in mango starts with the appearance of mango mealy bug in December. The damage caused by this insect is tremendous as its young ones crawl up and congregate on young twigs and flowering panicles in large numbers, severely affecting flowering and fruiting.

It is not easy to control this insect with chemicals as it has a waxy covering on its body which comes in the way of direct chemical contact.

However, the method for preventing this insect from crawling up is very easy and inexpensive. As the young nymphs are devoid of wings they can only crawl up the trunk. This can be prevented by applying a slippery band. For this, you can use a 15 to 20 cm-wide alkathene sheet. It can be tied all around the main stem starting near the basal end. One circular band is sufficient to check the menace. The upper and lower ends could be secured by driving in two or three nails 2 cm long. This makes the path slippery. As they venture to cross the band they fall down. This has to be done before the middle of December, when they start appearing from under the earth.

It needs to be kept in mind that some of these insects might find a way to climb up under the sheet. Cover the lower edge with compacted soil.

The purpose of applying a band is defeated if some branches of the tree are touching a nearby wall or an adjoining tree. This band then has to be applied in other trees, too. Do not let the branches touch a wall. The bugs may use the wall to crawl up the tree.

In case, there are many nymphs (the young ones) apply 50 gm of methyl parathion dust on the compacted soil to kill them. This is also the right time to remove the malformed shoots that keep hanging on the tree and are a perpetual source of insects and diseases. Cut and remove such hanging bunches along with a little healthy portion of the stem and destroy by burying or burning.