You could try to catch a time when the wind is blowing away from the garden and stand between them and spray away from the garden. If that wont work for you, get a 12 by 50 ft roll of black plastic and spred it over the garden while you spray and then pray it works. GOOD LUCK

Probably used as a fungicide in your area. In an old Sherlock Holmes movie, a gram of Copper Sulfate (on a Watercress sandwich) killed the perpetrator's arch enemy by destroying every organ in his body. I'd do a search for its toxicity, and see if you're willing to chance it. Then I'd do a search for organic fungicides, and see if something
in the lime/sulfur category isn't just as useful--and you get to retain all your organs (in case of exposure).

Lime is often mixed with it to reduce the toxicity (to both plant and human). Still, you definitely don't want to have contact with it (inhalation or skin exposure).

I'm pretty sure it is about the direct opposite of organic, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not approved.

I would spray weekly with liquid seaweed. Failing that I would spray with milk. Dilute each one at the rate of 3 ounces per gallon of water and spray liberally on all sides of the tree.

And, if you really don't want to hurt your garden, be careful when they ripen. It seems like they all ripen the same day and fall all at once. I drove through a neighborhood in Caracas about 20 years ago and it looked like a mango bomb went off. The road was slippery with smushed mangos that hadn't been cleaned up since the day before.

hello,anna;You might wish to contact Dr.Rosalie Koenig,Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology,University of
Florida (Co-Director of the Center of Organic Agriculture at the University of Florida) for any updates,ideas and leads.
see http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/organic
or the home page of the American Phytopathological Society http://www.apsnet.org/ Online Resources (left margin)>Feature Articles(Nov.2000)
Foliar applications should be taken seriously-based upon many factors

I have no advice... I just have jealousy ovr the thought of growing fresh mangoes.

Fat chance of that happening in NH.

-pH- Yankee mango lover

Omg, it sounds awful. I was so happy last year when we bought the little tree, and now I'm wondering if I'll ever see a mango! Marylandmojo, lol, we do want to retain all our organs.

dchall sa, I have 'fertrell 1 plant food from the sea', but I think that is largely a fish emulsion. Is there a specific name or brand of liquid seaweed to look for? Is this considered a fungicide?

pickwick, I emailed Dr. Koenig. I hope she emails me back. Will let you all know if she does. Thank you everyone.

Copper sulfate is certified for use by organic gardeners.

It is also used on vegetables such as tomatoes.

If you decide to use it follow label directions-ie mask, gloves,etc.

I am curious--how old is your mango tree? Or how long in the ground? Also what variety?

It takes 3 to 5 years for a grafted tree to bear fruit. 8 years or longer if it is a seedling.

I use Garden-Ville's liquid seaweed, but only because I buy it from Garden-Ville. It is not considered a fungicide. It is considered a food for beneficial fungi. The theory is that the more you feed good food to beneficial microbes, the more they will dominate and prevent diseases like your fruit drop fungus.

Farkee, you think it is organic? I can't find any info on this. Do you know where I can find some? My lettuce and broccoli, both of which we eat several times weekly, are by this mango tree. I don't know how old my tree is. We bought it about a year and a half ago and it was about 3-4 feet tall. It is now about 7-8 feet tall and quite bushy and healthy. It gets lots of alfalfa, compost, soybean meal and coffee grounds, as well as probably more water than it would otherwise, since it is by the veggie garden. It is now in very full bloom and more coming. Quite a spectacle for this small tree. Some fruit are setting. It is a Nam Doc Mai, and yes, it is grafted. I had wanted this tree for a long time.

Dchall sa, I will look for liquid seaweed. I am still uncertain what to do. Will continue researching this. Any further advice or info is most welcome! Thank-you!

hello anna;are there any organic mango orchardists in your area? It might be worth your time to get on the phone and make some calls.Also contact your State Extension and tell them you are an organic grower with mangos.You will need to find out the dominant strains of the pathogens involved in your area;the timing of the spraying with the most effective and safest formulations to address the specific strains( i.e.may include buffering agents/adjuvants)- considerations of the characteristics of your water(alkalinity,salinity for examples); a good sprayer;appropriate dress and protection; wind speed;temperature and follow-up protocols....Maybe you will find an organic orchardist in your area who is licensed and willing to give you a hand.Ask to see and review as much documentation as you can...(ideally,plant tissue analysis would play into the picture....)
goodluck

Mango trees produce 1000's of blooms, most will drop off (that's OK). Your tree may not be very old--younger trees will flower and may produce fruit but if it is not mature enough to bear fully those flowers and fruit drop off. You have to be patient until the tree is older. A tree that was only 3-4 feet high one year and half ago was probably just planted then--so that is a very young tree indeeed.

If it is ready to fruit you may not get a huge crop the first year.

It is not always necessary to spray copper fungicide as some cultivars don't seem all that susceptible to anthracnose. I haven't sprayed my Nam Doc Mai though I really don't know if it is or isn't susceptible. Some people religiously spray preventatively and others never spray. If the blooms do get anthracnose-that can be devastating. (By the way that is a WONDERFUL mango.)

Actually, I don't know how frequently you are watering your vegetable garden but excessive watering would not be good for your mango at all. They don't like alot of water once they are established. Is it also a sprinkler type that is getting the mango leaves all wet too? Not good.

I use organic fertilizer for my vegetables but not for the fruit trees as I use the same fert. that I apply to my many, many palm trees. I don't see why you could not go all organic though--just be sure and supply trace minerals in some form. I am not sure alfalfa meal would be enough though--maybe some-sort of chicken-manure based organic fertilizer??? You would have to do some research.

As for as the copper being certified for organic farmers just google something to that effect and I am sure something will come up. Good luck with your mango--most delicious fruit in the world!!!

OH WAIT A MINUTE!!!

I just reread your post and now I understand that YOU just planted it 1 and 1/2 year ago. That tree is too young! Even if it did bear fruit it is recommended by some that you pick it off for the first year or two anyway.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG216

Pickwick, no organic orchardists in my area. We are sort of in the cusp for being able to grow mangoes. No mango orchardists of any type here. I've asked a couple of friends/neighbors and they do the copper sulfate thing.

I did contact my extension agent today. I did it with low expectations since in the past I have not found them to be particularly organically oriented. However, I happened on one who was very helpful and willing to consider how I wanted to do things.

First of all, he agreed with Farkee, that my tree may still be too young to sustain fruit, even if it temporarily sets fruit. He also said last year was a particularly bad year for fruit drop since it was such a wet spring (very unusual for us). Then he pointed out that this year it has been dry so far, which is good for setting mangoes. He told me not to spray anything until it starts raining, and if I didn't want to spray copper sulfate, to try either a Tablespoon of baking soda in a gallon of water or a little sulfur in water, used as a spray. Apparently the theory is that in either acid or basic ph's, the ability of the pathogen to grow is limited. That sounded reasonable to me.

Farkee, my mango leaves and flowers are not getting wet, I don't think, but my veggies are not far away. When I water them with the hose, the mango probably gets moisture too. I realize this is not optimal, but it did not occur to me when we planted it. However, it is in a raised area, so the drainage is excellent. Maybe that will make up for it.

Thank-you all again for all your helpful suggestions. I'm feeling more certain about my options. I will look for the liquid seaweed, but also consider the baking soda solution when the rains come. In the meantime, I will say my prayers for at least a few Nam Doc Mais this year!

hello anna; I had overlooked the age of your tree as well but was rather focussed on anthracnose which is subdivided into several Ascomycetous and Imperfect fungal groups. I had battled unsuccessfully, over many years with the dogwood anthracnose back east(Discula destructiva). If you have an inclination to use the aps search engine keywords "dogwood anthracnose" and check-off one journal at a time(seems to work better that way),there are several implications from reading the abstracts of casual agents involved with its frequency,dispersal, and persistance(overwintering); hosts; fungal population biology of isotypes and so forth...
I see some similarities with the anthracnose afflicting mango(Colletotrichum gloeosporioides)... but of course, they are different fungal pathogens....
I hope you receive a reply from Dr. Koenig for updates and wish you success....
ref.
Plant Pathology; George N.Agrios

It may not be organic as in carbon containing but it does occur naturally.

So Steve, if the lettuce closeby got sprayed with the copper sulfate and we had it a day or two later for supper.... would we lose any organs? Seriously, would you eat veggies sprayed with this? I guess that what it boils down to. Still am a bit uncertain.

Dchall, have not found the liquid seaweed yet. Will try my favorite place this next week. Every place has the copper sulfate!

Pickwick, did not hear from Dr. Koenig.

hello anna;if you go back to farkee's reference(Univ.of Florida) additional publications are listed there pertaining to mangos. You will find confirmation of elemental sulphur as an alternative anthracnose fungicide to copper compounds as well as listings of University of Florida Tropical Fruit Specialists.You will need to find an appropriate speader sticker product likely listed in the label of the sulphur product so that yours sprays will not be washed off when it rains. I personally would not go with copper compounds so close to a vegetable garden. Follow label instuctions to the T-(don't be tank mixing anything else...) You will also need to investigate the appropriate rotational formulation... goodluck

The copper sulfate label specifies a 24 hour re-entry period, meaning stay away for at least 24 hours. I use Gardens Alive's Soap Shield, which is sort of a copper equivalent of Safers Soap. Re-entry is allowed as soon as it dries. That's important since some of my fruit trees are in the dog yard and they can only cross their legs for a little while.

I've heard that some consider Soap Shield to be fairly ineffective in high disease pressure areas, but my disease spray rotation is effective and I use Soap Shield at a critical point.

I do four disease sprays on my (temperate climate) fruit - a dormant spray of lime sulfur (mixed with dormant oil), micronized sulfur before plum blossoms open, Soap Shield at full bloom, and Serenade (a biological) at least a week later.

For my plums, the main goal is to fight off brown rot, which infects at bloom. But the black knot infection rate has also gone way down since I started that sequence. I use the same sequence, but with different timing, on my apples and quince.

hello bruce;It is good to acknowledge your disease prevention/control regime for your specific crops in your climate.I sometimes find that it is necessary to review distinctions made of dormant oil sprays and year-round horticulural oil sprays as well as the formulation of an approach to disease management and follow-up protocols based upon the specific crop/pests and diseases associated with that crop, specified chemical treatments and alternatives, and where the crop is grown...(good post)