How to Make a Grafted Mango Tree Grow Faster
- 1). Select a known root stock from a reputable company that encourages quick, healthy growth and fruits with desired characteristics. Don't use untested seed to create root stock--this can lead to unsuccessful grafts, slow growth and/or undesirable fruit.
- 2). Choose a root stock cultivar that germinates and grows rapidly such as Zebda, Sukkary or Sabre. Husk your seeds (remove the outer, leathery layer with your fingers) and soak them using package directions in a GA3 solution available at your nursery before sowing. Plant the seeds 1/2 inch deep in a nursery tray, or directly into a 1-gallon container. Use any well-draining nursery-quality potting soil. Transplant seedlings once they're as thick as a pencil into any well-drained soil at least 3 feet apart.
- 3). Allow your root stock to grow to a diameter greater than 0.7cm around the trunk before grafting.
- 4). Carefully align cambium tissues on the root stock and scion (cutting) to graft your plants properly. Cut the root stock in a manner that will allow the scion to fit into the base like a puzzle piece. Shapes that work well with Mango include wedge, veneer and whip-and-tongue grafting methods. Clip small twigs/branches for use as scions only from proven, healthy trees. Fit the scion carefully into your chosen cut made on the root stock and wrap with plastic grafting tape.
- 5). Graft more than one seedling onto each rootstock over the course of several seasons. When branches sprout below the graft, belonging to the root stock, graft scions onto that new growth and prune any unused rootstock growth. Mangoes with a single graft appear to grow more slowly and have lower fruit yields than multi-grafted root stock. Multi-grafts may create dwarfism in the plant but induce earlier flowering and more prolific fruit production.
- 6). Treat with Paclobutrazol for increased fruit growth rather than increased tree size. The influence of Paclobutrazol may vary from one cultivar to another, so ask your local agricultural extension agency if your mangoes will benefit from Paclobutrazol treatment, and for the exact treatment specifications/dosages that work best with your cultivar(s).
