Question
I am not sure if my mango tree has disease or not. A lot of the leave on the east side of the tree has thick black dust looking powdery thing on it. I am not sure if the leaves are diseased or if they are just dirty. I pluck on leave and brush it hard under water; the black stuff could come out. The black stuff only appears on the face of the leaves and not on the underside of the leave.  It took me 5 minutes just to wash one leave, how do I get rid of the black stuff on the leave so that the mango tree will look healthy and clean again?  Thank you for your help.  Alicia

Answer
Hi Alicia, you will need to us a pesticide to rid your mango of sooty mold.  I would use Pure Neem OIl by Dyna Gro.  It does not wash off for further protection, is not poison, can even spray your blooms for better fruiting.  The sooty mold will not wash off unless you do it, but the new growth will be free of it.  kathy