Ger...I have never been able to discover any pollen transfer whatsoever with mangos. I've tried using a brush and don't think it made any difference at all. I'm currently doing nothing at all for my nam doc mai and it is loaded with mangos. There are fans blowing around the plant and that is probably aiding the pollination...but that's it. There is nothing better than flies though. They seem to really enjoy mango flowers. Unfortunately, no flies in winter! Turn an oscillating fan onto your plants.

I've not been able to easily identify the flowers either. The cogshall is blooming heavily as well. I'm not going to screw with it either and see how well it does.

Jay:

Apparently, poly-emb mangoes, such as Nam Doc Mai may need no pollination as they produce fruit that are not sexual reproductions. Cogshall would be mono-emb. It will be interesting to see how it does without insect or human pollinators. I do think that wind could also be a pollinator, I am just not sure. Good luck...may you have many mangoes on both!

Harry

Good to know Harry, thanks. At least both have flowers going at the same time. I'd hate to sacrifice a panicle from the NDM to rub against the flowers on the cogshall. If it doesn't produce any, then next time around I will order flies online! Believe it or not, they have them and are very inexpensive. Not sure how they would do shipping in this cold.

hmm jay- think i may try ordering the flies! do u have the link to hand?

Guess they ship year-round. If you talk to them, ask them if they will hatch at cooler temps than 80 degrees.

http://www.forkedtreeranch.com/

Not sure if this would work, but this article refers to placing pannicles bearing pollen into spray bottles of water....presumably then spraying the other flowers to achieve pollination.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mango Pollination

Thanks for the link J- will check out the link- by the way, if mango pollem is anything like lychee pollen, it will basicly be impossible to see without a super bright light right next to the blooms- the only way i can see the lychee pollen is by putting a 250w light right next to the male flower and even then, i have to be really looking intently and most of the pollen comes off the anther with the first rub or shake- so it could be that your mangoes had pollen and you didnt see it because you did not have a bright enough light shining directly on the blooms.

also, it is my humble supposition that the brush method would not work as well as using a small tweezer to rub the male anther directly against the female stigma- the pollen is so tiny and the amount so limited that i really think that rubbing the anther directly against the stigma without using an intermediary would be more effective.

will bring the mango indoors with my lychees so i can keep a close eye on the blooms. (damn- that rules out the flies!) will keep you posted.

Also, remember that mango pollen is supposedly ineffective below certain temps. I was taught the minumum temp was 60 F. I see in some of the literature that they are saying possibly as low as 55 F. Realistically, there is probably some range of temp that varies with cultivar.

Thats another reason I better bring my mango in from the garage. man its gonna stink up the house- wifey is gonna be so pleased. wonder if the lack of pollen on my mauritius tree is related to the temperature. my house temp is 68 during the day and 60 at night- wonder if thats too cold for mauritius to produce pollen.

Harry, if both are flowering, why do think the flies would not work? Makes sense that the flies would travel to different flower spikes.

Thanks for the link on spraying the pollen/water mix. I've read something similar a while back but have never put it into practice.

Why couldn't one dip all flower spikes into the water making a pollen soup of all types and then, spray all the flowers from both trees? Or for that matter, just continue redipping the spikes instead of spraying? I wish I had a very good microscope. I'd be darn curious just how much pollen transferred to the water during all the dunking. I'm sure you'd have to do this each day while the flowers were opening and new spikes appeared...not to mention that the pollen is probably only viable at certain periods. Also wonder how long the pollen is viable kept in the water?

It really would be very interesting and a lot of fun to see what methods really do work and/or work the best. But when you have such a limited space as I do and only two plants, I can't risk a potential crop by limiting my tries to one method. I will continue with the use of the fans and may even try the spraying/dunking as well. I don't have the patience or the time to do the micro surgery that Gerry is doing with his lychees! I would think that the spraying/dunking would also work with the lychees and I swear I've read about it somewhere.

If the spraying/dunking works, it would have to improve the set of even the NDM wouldn't it?

There were some posts that also mentioned doing the spraying with lychees...as long as multiple donors were available.

Most fruits require pollination for the seed to develop and the maximum flesh to seed ration to be achieved.

Pollination can occur from separate male and female flowers or perfect flowers containing both male and female flower parts. Sometimes the pollen is not compatible and the female flowers can only be pollinated from a genetically different pollen source.

Wind and insects are the most usual pollinators although bats and some birds have specific relationships with some flowering plants, including fruits.

The percentage of pollination and the size/shape of the fruit is frequently associated with a higher seed count in fruits that have multiple seeds. This effect is less obvious with fruits that have single seeds.

Temperature and humidity affect the timing and duration of the viability of the pollen and the receptiveness of the stigma. These two factors must overlap to insure pollination on one or multiple trees. Fruits that have multiple flowers produced in sprays, like the mango, usually have a very high percentage of male flowers and relative fewer female flowers with a staggered opening to enhance the potential for pollination.

Rain and low or high temperatures can adversely affect the growth of the pollen tube and the development of the seed. Low and high temperatures after pollination can injury the developing seed and cause seed(s) to abort resulting in fruit drop. Small fruit with aborted seed(s) may continue to develop, but the size and shape is noticeably different from seed with a fully developed seed(s).

In cooler, wet winter climates many growers snap off the first mango flower flush because they rarely produce high quality fruit. A second flower flush will develop in the late spring and the warmer, drier weather produces a better flower set with less potential for mildew to develop.

Another...

You are right. Mangos (atleast in India) do not require crosspollination. So your lone tree should bear.
The number of flowers in Mango are very much. It is estimated that if the setting percentage is 0.1%, there is a very heavy crop.
Mango flowere has only one anther. So you do not see pollen.
Dr. Chiranjit Parmar

Another source...supports what Harry believes: I've read where once the temperature drops below 60F, there is no pollen
available.

Jay:

I never said that flies would not work. I think they would work.....but you'll have to put up with flies (perhaps not an option if plants are in the house).

Cross pollination usually means better fruit set in most fruiting plants. I assume it would in mangoes also....I just don't have any empirical evidence that I can rely on to prove it.

Sorry, I don't have any answers for you about the pollen soup. I have no idea how much pollen gets into the water nor how long it remains viable.

I think Gerry needs one of those medical mangnifying/lighting devices that micro-surgeons wear on their heads during surgery to visualize minute detail in the operative field. I wonder what they cost...probably not cheap.

Harry

harry- very good idea about the medical light- will look into it!
will probably do the pollen soup spray as a back up

Not as easy as it sounds. You need a deep and wide enough container to get the spike into. This means a lot of water which equates into being heavy and hard to handle. Also, trying to maneuver the densely packed plants is a chore. I tried it. Have no idea if any pollen got into the water. What a pain! Oh well...I guess it can't really hurt...unless the fans had blown some pollen onto some stigmas and I just washed it off!

j- u r so funny- u should do stand up

Here's something I found.......which mentions wind as a pollinator.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mango Pollination

Thanks Harry- the write of the article didnt think wind did much pollinating of mangoes.

somewhat helpful article (also concluding that wind will not pollinate mangoes)

Here is a link that might be useful: mango pollination artile

If you want to attract flies, just put out some rotten beef, maybe a little bit of ground beef or something. Once it spoils, it will draw flies. I had some ground beef go bad one time in my refrigerator so I took it out and I put it in my trash can and I watched, and in less than a minute the first fly was buzzing around, and it drew more flies that I had seen no evidence of beforehand.