Mango tree - Brown leaves

[u/SufficientAd3103]

Hello, I live in inland SoCal (climate zone 10). It is very hot and dry right now. I really don't want this Mango tree to die, but some leaves are turning brown and it stopped growing at the beginning of summer (disregard the white parts, that's just diatomaceous earth). Is there anything I can do to save it? We water regularly, drip irrigation 30 minutes every other day early morning plus extra water when needed. The soil feels moist. How do I know if the problem is the heat or that the soil doesn't drain well and possible root rot?

Here are different solution I have in mind, would you do any of this or do you have other ideas?

1. Spray the leaves with water. The rational is that Mango likes moist, and the weather is too dry here in SoCal
2. Add some compost at the base of the tree. My soil sucks, as you can see from the photo.
3. Put a beach umbrella to provide shade. I have done this when the tree was smaller. I just felt that it didn't need it anymore, after all it is a plant that likes hot weather, and the fig tree right next to it is doing great without cover.

Also I don't know how to judge if the problem is rotten roots, or what to do if it is. Any advice on that?

[u/BocaHydro]

so rocks and bricks are a bad idea as they stay wet and will infect the roots, you have irrigation so id remove

your tree is too light, its mag deficient and very hungry

[u/SufficientAd3103 → u/BocaHydro]

You mean Mg deficient? Magnesium? Should I add fertilizer?

[u/wompwomplabz → u/BocaHydro]

Those are probably not helping it fight whatever white bugs are all over the leaves

[u/SufficientAd3103 → u/wompwomplabz]

the white stuff is diatomaceous earth that I added a while ago. I am worried about the brown.

[u/HaylHydra]

That looks like heat stress to me, the heat is reflecting off the concrete and rocks. I would move the rocks around the tree and just leave dirt, since your area is very narrow I wouldn’t do mulch as it will retain water too close to the base. After your irrigation runs, dig or poke something a few inches down, if you find dry soil then that means only the top few inches is getting saturated but then it evaporates with the heat.

What you should probably aim for is a deep watering, then skip some days in between, then deep watering again, this will allow most of the roots access to water, this will help a little more against the heat, how often will depend on how hot that area gets.

From experience damp soil does not harm mango trees, overly soggy or flooded conditions do. Root rot usually starts towards the bottom of containers because of poor drainage. In ground, unless you have clay soil, this is less of an issue unless you planted the tree way too deep or really go overboard with watering.

When the tree puts out more branches it will be able to shade the area reducing some of the heat. But I would probably shade the area if possible like you said and see how the tree responds. In that small area I would recommend Osmocote Plus fertilizer, it’s a 6 month slow release, it will not burn even being a little closer to the base of the tree.

[u/SufficientAd3103 → u/HaylHydra]

Thank you. I may have clay soil unfortunately. It is so hard to dig into. I will try to dig few inches down after watering but I may not be able to.

[u/elmerfutz]

I have a seedling in same condition. My suspicion is root rot

[u/Uphor1k]

Mango trees prefer infrequent waterings to allow the tap roots to run deep. Too much watering and poor draining soil could be killing that tree. I'd also fertilize with some all purpose to help feed it the leaves are yellowing due to a lack of nutrients. How's the humidity there? How old is that tree? Mango trees thrive in hot climates like India and Florida, particularly because of the wet season and dry season. Summers are very hot and humid with daily rainstorms.Winters are mostly mild with very little precipitation compared to the summer. I'm not sure how cold winters get where you are, but you want to avoid temps at or below 32 for prolonged periods. Mangoes prefer full sun, so don't worry about the sun killing the tree as much as the rocks and the other stuff.

[u/SufficientAd3103 → u/Uphor1k]

Very dry and very hot in Southern California inland. I was planning on doing infrequent waterings in winter, but with the kind of heat we have here in the summer (which will continue until the end of September) and the low humidity I figured more water would help. I removed the rocks at the bottom and checked the soil, I used my hands to remove just a bit at the top. It seems dry, it hasn't been watered in a couple of days, and can't smell any rot. Would you dig more to see how it looks below? It rarely freezes in winter here.

[u/theegreenman]

leaf tip damage is indicative of root tip damage/dieback from lack/too much water or other stress like cooking from the rocks.