Q: My mango tree produces nice fruit, but some are rotten inside. The seeds are rotten too. What causes this?

Y.M.,

Opa-locka

A: This is a disorder called ''jelly seed'' or ''soft nose.'' It is the premature ripening of the fruit's flesh. This is aggravated by high nitrogen fertilization. Harvest fruits at the mature-green stage if your tree is prone to this problem. The degree of severity may vary from one season to another. To help prevent this disorder, use a fertilizer with higher potassium level than nitrogen (N-P-K = Nitrogen - Phosphorus - Potassium) such as 8-3-9. Also, make sure that your fertilizer includes magnesium. Varieties that are susceptible to jelly seed include: Tommy Atkins, Sensation, Haden and Kent.

The first fruits to ripen on your tree are more prone to this disorder.

Q:I have these very strange things growing up in my lawn. They are very mushy and bright red in color. The worst part is the smell is like dead flesh.

D.C., North Miami

A: These are mushrooms called stinkhorns. They are not listed as being poisonous (except for one reference), and don't harm plants or the lawn. However, it would be better not to allow children and pets to eat these mushrooms just to be on the safe side. You can remove them when they are still small (they will look like a puffball mushroom) by pulling them up and throwing away in the trash. Once they are fully developed, spores are being released into the environment.

Adrian Hunsberger is an entomologist/horticulturist with the UF/IFAS Miami-Dade Extension office. Write to Plant Clinic, 18710 SW 288th St., Homestead, FL 33030; e-mail aghu@ifas.ufl.edu.

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