In Kenya mango farming is done by use of different varieties and river water for irrigation in some farms and mangoes are are seasonal.
These are different varieties of mangoes; apple mango which is almost round, big and yellowish; Tommy mango which is oval ,red and very big; Kent mango which is big and green but very sweet when ripe and it usually takes longer to grow; the sensation mango has a black appearance but is loved by insects; and van dyke mango which is the sweetest and most expensive mango type. The most common variety is the apple mango and the long mango locally known as nyowe.
Handling grafting
Grafting mangoes is a practice that helps them endure healthy growth and eliminates the chance of potentially negative genetic differences as well as improves the yields. When the seed has grown up to about one foot, that is the time to graft with the piece of mango you want.
After grafting, you can start getting mangoes immediately but is not advisable since the stem is weak hence buds are removed until it gets strong which takes about three years to get best mangoes.
Controlling pests
Pests and diseases such as fungal pathogen, powdery mild dew attack young fruits, flowers and foliage leaving them covered with white fungal powder and often developing lesions and applying of fungicide coating on susceptible parts helps to treat. Neem oil can also be applied as prevention.
Mango flies are caught by baits. There is the liquid bait which attracts female flies and the hard bait that attracts the male insects and incase of leaf rust the systemic insecticide is used to get rid of it.
Best conditions
Soils which are sandy and organic in nature , a proper drainage system and a pH of 6-7 have climatic conditions which are wet and dry seasons of 4-5 months are favourable for mango farming Enough light is also important for germination hence cutting branches is important.
