Potted baby mango tree -- are these things to worry about?

[applestar]

I have a mango tree I grew from seed. It's about 4 years old and growing well. When spring comes and temperatures warm up, it will go outside for the summer.

But last fall, it developed a split in the bark of one of the forked trunks. And the light colored spots on the leaves are new and developed during the winter.




If the split in the bark which faces upward could become a potential point of disease infection/pet infestation, I might lop it off at the trunk joint as preventive and focus on growing the other trunk.

I don't know what the light colored spots are either. Fungal issues from misting every day? I can't see any here, but I'm dealing with two spotted mite infestation in another room.

[applestar]

Something else -- and maybe explanation for yellow spots...

Last few days, I've been puzzling over sticky residue on underside of one of the leaves. I couldn't see any scale or other likely suspects on that leaf, and it's one of the topmost leaves AND underside so not residue dripping from infested leaf above.

This morning, got up earlier than usual and turned on the lights to find a STINKBUG crawling around on underside of a leaf next to the sticky one.

Brown Marmorated Stinkbugs crawl in somehow and overwinter in the house. I find them one by one, usually hiding in the window dressing. I rarely see them in my plants, but maybe they regularly come out and feed at night. Only time I know they've been is when I see the black stinkbug pee on the foliage.

[cynthia_h]

Good detective work on the stinkbugs! Wow, what sneaky, underhanded little @#$%&^*s.

No idea about the bark split; the mango trees in Panama were a long time ago, and as a kid I was very focused on the fruit hanging over the fences within reach rather than the bark.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[applestar]

Thanks, Cynthia.

[applestar]

Bump. I was watering them and wondered again about the split bark in the Mango.
Anybody have insight?

[sepeters]

https://books.google.com/books?id=RypnQT ... ng&f=false

[applestar]

Thanks for the link.

[sepeters]

I read where some people said this is normal and happens to all mango trees. Others suggested a boron deficiency. Maybe this will help? I have no experience with mango trees and don't like to blindly suggest things just from the internet, but maybe one of these things will give you a good lead to follow. Good luck!