Sunday, March 2, 2003		Garden Life

Watch out for pests on mango trees
Satish Narula

FOR gardening enthusiasts, two most important events will take place this week, the flower shows and the flower penicle emergence in mango. Prepare yourself for these and observe the following tips for best results.

Mango is a household tree in the submontaneous region comprising Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Chandigarh, Patiala, and Ambala. This king of fruits is valued for its excellent taste and nutritive value.

But it needs careful handling during the flowering period. Any complacence at this time would mean almost total loss of fruit. In this season, when the flowering in the mango tree starts, it gets infested with the powdery mildew, a fungal disease. The flowers first turn brown and then black. The flowers then fall, leaving the middle twig (the axis) naked.

It is easy to control. Spray karathane, dissolved one millilitre to a litre of water, thrice. The first spray is to be given when the flower penicles just appear. The second spray should be given as the flowers open and the third spray is given after the fruit sets. But before spraying remove all the old hanging black masses of malformed shoots. These are the harbourers of fungal spores. The spraying should also be thorough, as the fungicide will act only where it falls.

Keep a constant vigil on the trees. If you observe sticky, shining leaves as if sprayed with gum, your trees are infested with mango hopper, another menace to watch out for as both the young ones and the adults suck sap from the emerging flowers, which fall prematurely. Spray thiodan twice, at the end of February and one month later. Mix 1.5 ml thiodan in a litre of water. It can be sprayed along with karathane.

Those interested in participating in the flower show should read the brochure carefully and follow the instructions to the last letter. Keep only the prescribed number of blooms or pots, as any variation would mean disqualification. Always carry a specimen or two in excess of the number desired to be displayed, lest you should damage a specimen during transit.

The features that attract the judges' attention are the freshness of the bloom, rarity of colour, absence of insects, damage and blemishes caused by diseases. Make sure the flower vases provided by the show committees for display of the blooms are not leaking or lopsided. Always use the vases with heavy base for display of blooms with heavy heads such as dahlia, stock, gladiolus, etc, as most of the time these fall in the slightest breeze and the bloom gets spoiled.

Display the blooms in such a way that they are not crowded and face the judges. You can enter more number of entries in the same class. This will give you a better chance to win.