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Fruit tree growing guide
Mango seed must be sown fresh: it dies quickly once it dries. Take the kernel out of its woody husk, sow it on edge in a free-draining mix and use the seedling as a tree or as a rootstock for grafting.
Mango seed is recalcitrant: it holds a lot of water and loses viability as it dries, so sow it within days of eating the fruit. Scrub off the pulp, dry the stone in the shade for a day or two, then cut a small slit in the husk at the stalk end and prise it open to free the kernel. Discard kernels that are shrivelled, brown or black.
Look at the kernel. A single solid kernel is monoembryonic and gives one hybrid seedling that will not match the parent fruit. A kernel divided into several segments is polyembryonic and sends up several shoots; most are clones of the mother tree.
Not needed beyond removing the husk. Husking speeds and evens up germination and lets you check the kernel.
Not needed. Cold harms tropical recalcitrant seed.
Not needed. A short rinse is enough; the main rule is never to let the kernel dry out. In one Indian trial a gibberellic acid soak raised germination, but fresh seed germinates well without it.
Warm. Sow in the hot, humid season; in India that means right after the March-June fruit season, not in the cool months.
Set the kernel on its edge with the concave side facing down and leave part of the top uncovered. Whole stones in the husk can be pushed in deeper; a hill-zone trial found deeper sowing (10 cm) emerged earlier than seeds left on the surface.
Coarse and free-draining. Western Australia's nursery mix is 50% coarse river sand, 25% vermiculite and 25% peat with slow-release fertiliser; a sand and compost mix works in home pots.
Keep evenly moist but never waterlogged; rotting kernels turn brown or black.
Germinates in the dark under its cover; keep trays in bright shade.
Husked kernels sprout in about 10-14 days. Whole seeds sown in the husk took about 25-41 days in the Indian trial.
If one kernel sends up several shoots, the weak, stunted one usually comes from fertilisation; remove it and keep one or more vigorous clonal shoots.
Move seedlings into deep individual pots once the first leaves have hardened. For grafting, a rootstock should reach a stem 8-10 mm thick and 10-15 cm tall, usually within eight months.
Plant into a well-drained, sunny site. TNAU digs 1 x 1 x 1 m pits and plants from July to December at 7-10 m spacing. Water at planting, every other day the first week, then once or twice a week until established.
Mature trees survive about -3.9 °C (25 °F) for a few hours with damage; young trees die at -1.7 °C (29 °F). In cold climates keep mango in a large pot under glass.
Red loamy, well-drained soil suits mango; TNAU gives pH 6.5-8.0. On very alkaline soils iron and zinc deficiencies are common.
Mature trees need water only in long dry spells; overwatering lowers fruit quality.
Pick when the shoulders fill out and the flesh near the seed is yellow; fruit ripens 3-8 days after picking at 21-24 °C (70-75 °F). Refrigerate only once ripe.
Sow mango seed fresh and grow your own tree or grafting rootstock.
Only if the seed is polyembryonic; most of its shoots are clones of the mother tree. Monoembryonic seed gives a hybrid with unpredictable fruit, so graft a named variety onto it.
Longer than a grafted tree. Grafted trees start bearing 3-5 years after planting; seedlings are slower and their fruit is not guaranteed.
Not reliably. The seed is recalcitrant and loses viability as it dries; Indian trials kept it alive for about ten weeks at most in moist ash or wet gunny bags.