Tapiwa Joyce Chitakunye, Worship Munikwa and Abigale Shoko 

The yield of mango is dependent on cultivar and the number of plants per unit area. Traditional spacing results in low returns during the early years of crop growth before the full canopy stage. Farmers have started adopting high density planting techniques and resort to thinning of trees once branches start torching. Yet there is potential for implementing some pruning techniques that will allow the high density stands to be maintained throughout the life span of the crop. Whip and tongue grafts of mango cultivar Haden were planted at a density of 5 m x 4 m (500 tree/ha). Box pruning, spherical pruning and the central leader (no pruning) methods were effected from the third year of transplanting.  Similar rise and fall occurred in the annual yields of all the treatments because of irregular bearing. Cumulative yield for nine years showed no significant difference in yield among the treatments.  There was no yield advantage in pruning and shape pruning mango trees spaced at 5 m x 4 m for 10 years from planting.