Mango malformation is a fungal disease. It was reported for the first time from Darbhanga, Bihar.
The disease is more in northwest than in the northeast and South India.
Malformation is one of the most important problems of mango and a serious threat. This disorder is widespread in flowers and vegetative shoots.
Broadly three distinct types of symptoms are there. These are vegetative malformation and floral malformation. Later, these were grouped under two broad categories that is vegetative and floral malformation.
Commonly foundVegetative Malformation (VM) is more commonly found on young seedlings. The seedlings produce small shootlets bearing small scaly leaves with a bunch like appearance on the shoot apex. Seedling remains stunted and die while those getting infected later resume normal growth.
Floral malformation (FM) is the malformation of panicles. The severity of malformation may vary on the same shoot from light to medium or heavy malformation of panicles. Heavily malformed panicles are compact and overcrowded due to larger flowers. They continue to grow and remain as black masses of dry tissue during summer but some of them continue to grow till the next season.
Management— Diseased plants should be destroyed. Use disease free planting material
— Scion sticks from infected trees should not be used.
— As soon as the disease appears, the affected terminals along with the basal 15-20 cm healthy portion should be removed or pruned and burnt.
— If more than 25 per cent affected plants, de-blossoming at bud burst stage should be done to delay the flowering.
— Spraying of Planofix (200 ppm) during the first week of October followed by deblossoming at bud burst stage is recommended.
A single foliar application of 1,000 ppm cobalt sulphate prior to flower bud differentiation successfully reduce the floral malformation.
(Dr. Utpal Dey, research scientist, Mob: 8119934883, email: utpaldey86@gmail.com and Dr. Anup Das (ARS), Senior Scientist (Agronomy), Division of Natural Resource Management, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam - 793 103, Meghalaya)
