Q. Last year I planted a Namdoc mango tree and it’s not doing well. The leaves get dry brown spots on them and eventually turn completely brown, dry up and die.

P.F., Miami

Your ‘Nam Doc Mai’ mango has either anthracnose or powdery mildew or both (they are fungal diseases). These won’t kill the tree and it’s too late in the season to try to control them now. Anthracnose may cause some stem dieback, so monitor your tree.

Next winter/spring when the tree starts flowering, use a copper-based fungicide spray once a week and continue until a about a month after the fruit have started to form. Pick up any fallen leaves since the fungal spores are on them. This will lessen the amount of fungal spores (inoculum) for next year.

Also, check out this website for more information on mangoes and other plants: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/.

Insect samples

Send undamaged (live or dead) insects in a crush-proof container such as a pill bottle or film canister with the top taped on. Mail them in a padded envelope or box with a brief note explaining where you found the insects.

Do not tape insects to paper or place them loose in envelopes. Insect fragments or crushed insect samples are almost impossible to identify.

Send them to the address of your county extension office, found in the blue pages in the phone book under county government.