Got Mango?:Trees on Maui promising a bumper crop for summer

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – It’s time to get out grandma’s best recipe for mango chutney or pickled mango, because a bumper crop is on the way.

Everyone from backyard growers to commercial orchards have noticed their mango trees producing plenty of flowers this spring, and plentiful strands of tiny mangoes are already starting to form.

Upcountry arborist Ernest Rezents confirmed that conditions are ripe for a good mango harvest.

“We should have a lot of fruit this year,” he said.

That’s true as long as nature cooperates, said Kihei fruit grower Wilbert Yee.

Too much rain can make the mango blossoms moldy, and too much wind can blow the baby fruits right off the tree.

“It seems like we’re going to have a good crop, but you never know about the weather,” he said.

If the fruits survive, it’ll be the biggest crop Yee has harvested in about five or six years.

That’s good for mango lovers, but not necessarily good for business. Yee expects prices for mangoes to drop from the current pre-season price of $3 per pound to just $1 per pound.

“They give it away, so how can you charge for it?” he said.

Mango trees run in cycles and usually bear a large crop every other year, Rezents said.

Last year was poor for mangoes, and the trees stored up plenty of energy to make up for it this year.

“If one year you have no fruit, they build up the energy in the leaves,” he said. “Every other year you have profuse blooming and a good crop.”

Good rains earlier in the season helped the trees produce extra flowers this year, he said.

But too much rain from now on could harm the crop, he added. Wet weather could result in powdery mildew on mango flowers, reducing fruit production.

The mildew can be treated with a concoction that can be made in the average kitchen.

Combine three tablespoons of baking soda with one gallon of water, add a few drops of dish detergent, mix it and spray it directly on the flowers, Rezents said.

Or a garden-store fungicide like wettable sulfur can block the mildew.

“If I do that, I have less fungus problems and more fruit,” he said.

Mango trees shouldn’t be overwatered, and they like a lot of sun, added Yee.

That may be just what Mother Nature has ordered for Maui, with long-range forecasts for a drier than normal spring and summer because of a continuing weak El Nino condition in the eastern Pacific.

El Nino is a warming of the ocean around the equator that has an effect on weather patterns around the world. Maui typically gets less rainfall than normal when an El Nino occurs. The national Climate Prediction Center is projecting that the El Nino will weaken over the next three months which is the prime fruiting period for mangoes.

Driving a golf cart through the 20-acre Yee’s Orchard started by his family in 1945, he said he had concentrated on extending his farm’s production season by planting a variety of trees. The mix should result in a harvest that lasts several months, peaking in June.

In addition to the standard varieties, Yee’s orchard has several mango varieties that are unique.

Yee has one favorite he calls “Golden Glow,” a super sweet variety with a small seed and a golden yellow skin. Another he called “Flame” for its striking rose-red coloring.

“You’ll think it’s the most beautiful mango you ever saw,” he said.

The Yee orchard started by gathering and planting mango seedlings from all over the world to see which would produce the choicest fruit. Years later, a few turned out to be really superior, but by then the labels had been separated from the tree.

“I didn’t develop it – more like discovered,” he said.

Today, in addition to worrying about wind and rain, Yee is concerned about the problems of modern life.

The tranquil orchard in the heart of Kihei is flanked by development, and the buildings and asphalt channel rain runoff into Yee’s grove of 300 fruit trees.

Each heavy rain causes flooding that tangles up his irrigation hoses and washes away soil, exposing roots and weakening the trees.

“They’ve got to do something about that problem,” he said.

Even after nearly 60 years of growing mangoes, Yee still loves to eat the fruit. There are a lot of ways to prepare it, but his favorite is the simplest.

“I like a good, ripe mango – chilled,” he said.

Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.