Soil is important factor to consider when growing your mango tree. You need to know what kind of soil you have and its pH level. The pH level of the soil should be determine using soil pH level testing device. Or if you don’t have the device you can just observe or know if the mango tree is native to your location and it will give you hint if you will continue growing mangoes or not. But do mango trees like acidic soil?
Yes, mango trees like acidic soil of around 4.5 pH and to neutral 7.5 pH. It likes the soil between those pH level and will thrive. The soil types that it likes are laterite, sandy, alluvial, loam and sandy. Those kind of soil is suitable to grow mangoes. It likes well drain soil.
Mango Soil Mix
There are materials that you can mix with the soil like compost, pumice and moss peat. Those materials will help to the soil to be well drain and improve the quality of the soil. The soil needs to be drain to prevent waterlogged because it might cause root rot.
When you transplant the mango seedlings from pot, you need to find an area and dig there. After digging for a hole, you need to improve the quality of the soil by putting some compost. The compost will help the mango seedlings to develop and grow well. You can make your own compost at home or buy it from the market. There are many available compost that you can put on the mango tree. After planting the tree will starts growing.
Mango Soil Preparation
Find an area where you will grow the tree and prepare the soil by digging a hole using a shovel with a wide and deep as double as the root ball. Water the soil and check if it drain fast. The mango tree likes well drain soil.
If the soil on that area is good, put some organic compost or peat moss to improve the soil quality. Put the mango seedling inside the hole and cover it with soil. You need to make sure that it is strong and will not fall down. After that, water the new planted mango tree. Do mango trees like acidic soil? It like soil with pH of around 4.5 to 7.5.
Mango Soil Moisture
Watering the soil make it moist. But mango tree doesn’t like too much wet. It will cause root rot. The tree grows long taproot under the soil. This taproot is very important because it is the main root of the tree. You need to protect it by looking for a good spot where the soil is well drain and to avoid waterlogged.
Mango Soil Organic Matter
There are organic matters that you can add on mango soil. Compost, animal manure and green manure are some of those organic matters that you can put on the soil. This will improve the quality soil and will make the tree grow bigger.
Why organic matter is important? Well it is important so that the young tree will grow fast, becomes taller, bigger and stronger. When the tree is big, it will produce more branches and leaves. The more branches it have the more spot where the flowers and fruits will grow.
Can Mango Trees Grow In Clay Soil?
No, mango trees will not grow well in clay soil. It’s because clay soil cannot absorb water well. It is not drain and more compact than loam and sandy. The water is way slower to filter through it.
That is also a reason why there are only few numbers of plant that grows in clay. If you try to observe there are more numbers of plant growing in loam and sandy. The compaction of the soil is also a factor if a particular plant will grow in that area.
Do mango trees like acidic soil? Soil with pH level between 4.5 to 7.5 is good for the tree. But clay soil has pH level around 5.5 to 7.0. Even the clay soil suit to pH level standard, still it is not good for growing mangoes because of its compactness. It is not drain soil.
Soil For Mango In Pot
The mango soil in pot should be drain and have some organic matters like compost. It is good for the tree so that the water will not stack. Waterlogged wil be prevented and yellowing of leaves will be avoided. If you are growing dwarf varieties of mango you need also to make sure that pot have a good drainage. It will prevent root rot and some other root problems.
Mango Tree Wet Soil
During rainy season soil becomes wet. On that period mango tree gets more water. Water is good for the tree to support nutrients to all parts of the tree. But having too much water, that makes the soil wet for a long period of time is not good for the tree. It might cause yellowing of leaves and also root rot. But if you have a well drain soil in your location the tree will be fine. Less tree stress will happen. Also the mango tree doesn’t need much water as it can retain water for a long period of time.
Those are some information about do mango trees like acidic soil and some other stuff. It is amazing to grow mangoes and sooner harvest and eat it.