Forest Leaf Litter Nutrient Dynamics: Mangifera indica

The mango is one of the most sought after dooryard fruit trees for home gardens  and agroforestry settings in Guam and the rest of the Mariana Islands. 

The local name for this important fruit tree is manga.

This fruit tree is not a true tropical tree, and this leads to inadequate flowering when the trees are grown in the Mariana Islands. Vegetative growth is so plentiful and unchecked that the trees rarely slow down long enough to for the stems to transition into reproductive growth.

The photograph on the right depicts a common phenomenon on Guam where a portion of the tree canopy produces flowers while the remainder of the canopy remains vegetative. Cultivars that consistently produce flowers in Guam’s climate are needed. 

The major disease problem is caused by the fungus Anthracnose, as shown in the fruit photograph on the left.

The Western Pacific Tropical Research Center introduced numerous mango cultivars to Guam and spent years evaluating their productivity. Several cultivars like ‘Edward’ and ‘Dot’ responded moderately well to forcing of flower production and produced high quality fruits,but production levels were not sufficient for commercial production. Continued search for locally adapted cultivars is urgently needed.

Elemental composition of mango leaf litter from five locations throughout the Mariana Islands.

Chemical and physical traits of mango leaf litter that may influence speed of litter decomposition.

Mango leaf litter decomposed at a relatively slow rate compared to the other tree species. About half of the litter had decomposed by 4 months. Most of the farm  sites exhibited complete decomposition by 18 months. The farm site  in northern Guam exhibited slower avocado leaf litter decomposition, reaching 100% decomposition at 32 months.