'2 Bacterial Disease of the Mango 



Literature. 



There is no description in available literature of a disease of mangoes 

 in any way resembling the one under discussion. General literature on 

 the mango is very scanty and consists for the most part of pamphlets 

 describing varieties and methods of propagation. In certain of these, 

 however, reference is made to the diseases to which the mango is subject, 

 and a short review of such references may not be out of place here. 



Three diseases are reported from Hawaii (7), a blight caused by 

 Colletotrichum sp. ; mango scab, and sooty mould. In Hawaii and 

 Cuba the bloom blight due to Gloeosporium mangiferae is common, 

 attacking the opening blossoms and causing them to turn black, dry 

 up and fall (3 and 6). This disease appears to be common in most 

 districts where the mango is cultivated and has been reported in this 

 country from Natal. 



There is no reference to any fungous or bacterial trouble in a pamphlet 

 entitled The Mango, its Culture and Varieties, by C. Marshall Woodrow 

 (12), although remedies are suggested against certain insect pests in a 

 paragraph on the "Enemies of the Mango Tree." 



" The mango in Porto Rico seems almost entirely free from disease, 

 or the attacks of insects. On the north side of the island the skin of 

 the fruit is frequently disfigured by black spots, probably a fungus. 

 Though in no way injuring the eating quality of the fruit, these detract 

 from its appearance. .. .In drier localities this discolouration was not 

 observed" (4). 



" Some of the varieties of mangoes cultivated in Trinidad are liable 

 to a disease which makes the interior of the fruit assume a dark, jelly- 

 like consistency, and the pulp immediately surrounding the seed becomes 

 completely sour and uneatable. This does not arise from being over- 

 ripe, as the same state of things may be seen in a half-ripe mango if cut. 

 Many of the trees in the Botanic Gardens are affected, and hitherto we 

 have been unable to ascertain the immediate cause." 



"It is curious to note, however, that in some cases individual trees 

 only are affected, while others growing near by produce perfectly sound 

 fruit. It is certainly more prevalent with the better class of fruit than 

 with the commoner kinds, but it is to be seen in all more or less. Again, 

 some of the fruit of a tree may be perfectly sound, while another portion 

 just as carefully handled will be utterly useless" (13). 



There is no mention of any disease in a paper on "The Mango in 

 South California" (9). 



