Midsummer normally marks the peak of Hawaiʻi's much-awaited mango season — but the delicious fruit is facing a delay this year.
Winds in February coupled with the overwhelming rains and flooding from the Kona low storms in March dealt a blow to local mango farms.
Mark Suiso, mango farmer and owner of Makaha Mangoes, spoke with HPR to explain what caused the damage and shared what to expect for mango season this year.
“We had a lot of wind early in February that knocked off a lot of the flowers and leaves on the trees, and that was followed quickly by a lot of rain, and so the trees were off cycle,” he explained. “We lost everything in March.”
With the return of calmer weather, Suiso said that mango trees may begin to bear fruit by November.
“This is one of those years where you're not going to get an abundance of fruit at one time,” he told HPR. “It’s going to take you another three or four months before we get to pick them … and I think that’s kind of a statewide phenomenon.”
In the meantime, the delay gives backyard growers an opportunity to partake in some of Suiso's mango farming wisdom.
Tip #1: Pruning makes your mango tree manageable.
“Pruning your tree to keep it small is important. Not pruning your tree and waiting for it to get 50 feet high creates a problem because you have a lot of root underneath there, and that's where a lot of problems occur with invasive roots,” he explained.
Tip #2: Don’t let your tree get too dead, dark or dense.
“You want to have a lot of sunlight — as much as possible — and then you want to have the airflow. So if you walk under your tree and it's really dark and mosquitoes are biting you, and there's a lot of dead branches in there, that's not a good idea.”
Dense leaves can choke off airflow and invite humidity, which promotes black spots and disease, Suiso explained.
“Some people say birds should be able to fly through the tree, and that's what you want.”
Tip #3: Research and bring fruit into your life.
“Spend a lot of time on YouTube,” and if you haven't already, find a way to bring fruit farming back into your life.
“I tell people if you don't have a fruit tree in your yard, you have no soul. Nothing beats that.”
To learn more about mango farming and the work Makaha Mangoes does to put fruit on the table, visit its website at makahamangoes.com.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 14, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web .
