Reasons why plums fall before they ripen and what to do

There is nothing wrong with a tree getting rid of a small number of ovaries after flowering. It is also natural for the tree to drop its ripe fruits at the end of the season. But why do the fruits fall off if the time has not yet come?

In fact, there are not so many reasons why fruits fall from trees prematurely. One of them is lack of moisture. In the heat, the tree, trying to get rid of the “extra load,” sheds weak ovaries and leaves.

In the first case, the losses can be replenished: the remaining ovaries will produce larger fruits. But with the loss of a large number of leaves, you risk losing the entire harvest: to ripen, for example, one apple, it is necessary that there are 30-50 leaves on the tree. Timely watering in dry weather will help the apple tree cope with unfavorable conditions and save the harvest.

The water for irrigation should be warm, otherwise you risk getting the opposite effect - ice water will cause the tree to drop its fruits even faster. The optimal time of day for watering is evening.

Fruit trees (pear, apple) are watered in the spring 15-20 days after flowering (the norm is 15 buckets for 1 tree), and then 15-20 days before harvesting (the water consumption rate is the same as in the spring). Stone fruits (plum, plum, cherry, etc.) are watered once a month, pouring 8-10 buckets of water under each tree.

Other reasons for the fall of ovaries and fruits in trees include attack by harmful insects, diseases and lack of nutrients. We suggest you look into each one.

Most common reasons

It is almost impossible to eliminate the problem that causes plums to fall off. But prevention is easier than ever.

If the plum is frozen

Sometimes a gardener plants non-zoned varieties on a plot with frost resistance above average winter temperatures. As a result, the tree freezes: fruit buds, bark and wood are damaged.

After such a winter, the plant weakens and sheds excess fruits, retaining only the necessary ones. This reduces yield. It happens that a plum is planted in a place blown by northern and northeastern winds. Then, during harsh winters, the plant will certainly freeze. In this case, it is recommended to replant the plant or (if this is not possible) install a protective screen.

Improper watering

The tree has a fibrous root system located in the upper layers of the soil. It cannot independently extract water from nearby horizons. Therefore, they are unable to hold onto the ripening fruits: shedding occurs.

Abundance or deficiency of fertilizers

The type and location of the plum root system allows it to receive nutrition only from the upper layers of the soil. If there is a lack of elements, fruits are dropped:

1. A lack of nitrogen is manifested through the color of the leaves (they become pale). In this case, the green ovaries fall off. It is necessary to feed the plant with mullein infusion or urea.
2. With a lack of potassium, green, but already slightly grown fruits fall off. It is recommended to fertilize with potassium fertilizer (salt).
3. Lack of phosphorus leads to the shedding of large, but unripe fruits. The plant should be fed with double superphosphate.

But an excess of elements also leads to shedding of plums. In soil oversaturated with nitrogen and acidified, the harvest will be lost.

Poor pollination

Sometimes gardeners choose non-self-fertile plum varieties. These plants require pollinators. It is recommended to plant plum trees in the garden, the flowering of which coincides with this one.

To attract pollinating insects, it is necessary to plant honey plants. Hyssop, basil, mint, and clover serve their role.

Spring return frosts are one of the main reasons for ovary shedding

A decrease in temperature even to -0.5 ° C during flowering leads to freezing of the stigmas of the pistils and stamen filaments. As a result, the pistil darkens and loses its ability to pollinate. You can see that a tree has suffered from return frosts by the condition of the petals - they acquire a brown tint.

It is interesting that if pollination has already occurred and the ovary has formed, then the tree will withstand lower temperatures - down to -1 ° C, but with stronger frosts, the frozen plum and cherry plum fruits turn yellow and crumble.

If temperatures in the region are predicted to drop, urgent measures must be taken:

1. Water the trees generously around the perimeter of the crown. Evaporating moisture can raise the temperature by half a degree - sometimes this is enough to save the crop.
2. Create a smoke screen. Fires are lit around the garden and filled with raw wood or grass. The flame does not play a special role, but the smoke that spreads through the garden can protect the trees from frost.

When choosing seedlings, it is important to pay attention to varieties zoned for your region - this will significantly reduce the likelihood of them freezing.

Diseases and pests

Fruit shedding is caused by pests and diseases. Dangerous pests include:

1. Sawfly. The butterfly lays eggs during the flowering stage of the plant. The first caterpillar eats the inside of the cream with the pit, emerges and pupates. Then the process is repeated. If protective measures are not taken, several generations of pests parasitize the plum tree over the course of a season.
2. Plum moth. It acts in the same way as the sawfly. But it damages the ovaries and the pulp of the cream. The fruits do not ripen and fall off.
3. Centipede. The butterfly lays eggs on trees that have just bloomed. The caterpillar eats the green seeds. The fruits fall off.

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Which varieties are susceptible to this pathology?

Shedding is common to all old plum varieties. Plants that produce an abundance of root shoots also get rid of excess fruits. But breeders are creating new varieties and hybrids that are resistant to shedding. These are the ones that should be chosen for planting in the garden.

Nuances

To effectively help the tree and preserve the harvest, it is recommended to first determine the cause of fruit shedding.

Plum sheds ovary

Often, things simply don’t reach fruit ripening: the ovaries turn yellow and fall off. Cause: lack of nitrogen. Unscheduled fertilizing with organic fertilizer (mullein infusion or bird droppings solution) will help correct the situation.

It is recommended to pour a bucket under each mature tree. In the absence of manure, it is permissible to feed the plant with urea or fermented plant residues. But sometimes just green ovaries fly off the tree. In this case, the plant gets rid of the fruits that have overloaded it. This often happens with young plums.

Drops green fruits

Sometimes gardeners complain: the fruits fall before they have time to ripen. The ovaries have increased in size, but are falling off. It is recommended to select several fruits, carefully examine and break them. If unripe berries are affected by caterpillars or scab, then most of the crop is lost. The rest can be saved by spraying with insecticides and antifungals.

If healthy unripe fruits fall off prematurely, then the plant needs complex feeding. First, it is recommended to add liquid nitrogen, and after 4-5 days - phosphorus and potassium. No elements are added at the same time, with the exception of ready-made mineral complexes. To speed up the absorption of nutrients, fertilizing should be combined with watering.

Sometimes an unripe plum falls off due to a sudden change in weather: a prolonged cold spell or persistent heat. In this case, the fruits fall from young or weakened trees. This is how the plant tries to save itself from death.

Ripe cream falls off

Plums often fall off the tree in large quantities. The fruit turns blue and begins to ripen. But for some reason the tree drops its harvest. It is recommended to pick up one or two fruits and break them. If there is a worm or traces of its vital activity inside, then the fruit tree has been attacked by pests and it is losing its harvest. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that it will be possible to save the harvest. But it is recommended to take into account mistakes and carry out preventive treatments in the fall and spring.

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If the plum is healthy and falls to the ground without ripening, then adding phosphorus-potassium fertilizers will help partially correct the situation. To increase the effectiveness of the event, it is recommended to combine fertilizing with watering. In July, the fruits stop growing and fall to the ground. They show traces of fungal diseases. In this case, it is recommended to spray with antifungal drugs.

Why do plum fruits fall off?

Why does an apple tree drop its fruits before they ripen?

Excessive dropping of almost or well-ripened fruits is often observed. In such cases, it is urgent to determine and eliminate the cause of shedding in order to allow the fruit to ripen or have time to collect. These factors are worth studying in more detail:

• Age of the tree . The optimal age of plums for fruiting is 5-8 years. If the tree is young or, conversely, too old, it may simply not have the strength to provide the fruit with the necessary substances.
• Dense, untreated crown . Plum, like all fruit-bearing trees, requires regular crown care. To prevent the tree from wasting energy on growing unnecessary branches, the plum tree should be cleared of diseased, dry branches and thinned out in areas that are too dense. The cuts need to be treated with garden varnish. It is worth remembering that the plant does not tolerate deep cleaning well, gets sick for a long time, and spends a lot of energy on restoration.
• Poorly chosen landing site . Although this plant is undemanding in terms of soil, in rare cases it does not tolerate shaded areas that are prone to soaking. In this case, you should think about drainage.

Important fact! Plum can react negatively to high acidity of the soil. To neutralize acidity, you need to use limestone, which should be added to the soil and lightly dug up.

• Lack of moisture. In hot summer conditions, plums are very sensitive to drought. Lack of nutrients, especially at the time of fruit ripening, affects the harvest. In order to water a tree, it is enough to water it generously 2-3 times per season. For better penetration of water to the roots, you can dig a shallow groove around the plum and pour several buckets of warm water into it.

More serious factors affecting the quality of the crop are:

• Lack of recharge;
• Pests;
• Diseases.

These causes and methods for eliminating them are worth studying more carefully.

Why do plum fruits fall off?

What to do in such cases

To prevent fruit shedding, a set of measures should be carried out during the season:

• make scheduled fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers in spring and autumn;
• carry out preventive spraying against diseases and pests;
• observe the watering regime;
• promptly remove weeds from the tree trunk;
• select pollinating varieties;
• remove root shoots;
• rake and burn plant debris (leaves, twigs, carrion);
• plant zoned varieties and hybrids.

To prevent plum trees from dropping green or ripening fruits, you should regularly monitor the condition of the trees. If a pathology is detected, protective measures must be taken immediately.

Poor pollination

During prolonged rains, pollinating insects do not fly around plum flowers. They also often die along with pests when garden trees are treated with insecticides. The tree begins to get rid of barren flowers - unripe flowers fall. After falling, the yield is reduced to a minimum.

Important Recommendations:

1. Do not use herbicides during plum tree flowering.
2. Resort to artificial pollination when there is prolonged rain or cold weather.
3. Attract insects to the garden. Plant fragrant flowers around the tree trunk or sprinkle sweet water on the trees.

But this only applies to non-self-fertile varieties. Experienced gardeners prefer varieties of stone fruit with cross-pollination. “Friendly” varieties that help pollinate each other are planted nearby. For example, near the variety “Hungarian Domestic” they plant “Kirke” or “Anna Shpet”. You can also carry out the grafting procedure. To do this, a couple of branches from pollinating varieties are grafted onto the crown of the tree. An easier way to carry out pollination is to hang jars with flowers from “friendly” varieties on the plum tree at the time of its flowering.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

A gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert See also How to prune a plum tree correctly

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Reference! You can prevent unripe plums from falling off by planting self-fertile varieties that can pollinate themselves. Popular varieties: Morning, Hungarian, In Memory of Timiryazev.

Proper care

To obtain a stable harvest, it is recommended to follow all rules for caring for trees.

Features of watering plums

To preserve the harvest, it is recommended to water the plant 4-5 times per season:

• after leaving a state of rest;
• after flowering;
• 2-3 weeks after the second watering;
• while pouring berries.

Under an adult tree, you need to pour 20-30 liters of water (the soil should be moist to a depth of 50 cm).

Regulation of fertilizing

Gardeners should know how to feed plums. Sequence of fertilizing:

• after the tree comes out of dormancy, add a solution of mullein or chicken droppings (norm: 1 bucket for an adult plant);
• after flowering, add potassium-phosphorus fertilizer (at the rate specified by the manufacturer);
• After harvesting, the loss of minerals in the soil must be replenished: it is recommended to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Dry fertilizers are scattered throughout the tree trunk and embedded in the soil.

Improper watering

Improper watering negatively affects the plum tree, causing it to drop its fruits prematurely. The root system of the crop is located closer to the surface. Insufficient soil moisture prevents fruits from feeding. They dry out at the stem and fall off. The plums will fall until the tree receives vital moisture.

The tree is watered frequently and abundantly: once every 10 days, 5 buckets of water per adult plant to moisten the soil around the trunk 35-40 cm deep.

It is worth relying on the climate: in rainy weather, the plum tree is not watered at all. Otherwise, the fruits will begin to rot and fall off. The last watering is carried out several weeks before harvesting the fruit. The plums will be fragrant and will gain a lot of juice.

Prevention of diseases and insects

To prevent diseases it is recommended:

• avoid dense plantings;
• carry out regular sanitary and formative pruning;
• remove weeds;
• apply fertilizing in a timely manner;
• remove anthills;
• treat the garden with antifungal drugs.

To combat insects, it is recommended to attract their enemies: ladybugs, antlions.

To prevent pest damage, it is recommended to carry out preventive spraying with insecticides:

• the first after the tree awakens;
• the second at the budding stage (pink bud);
• third after the formation of the ovaries;
• subsequent ones as needed.

Pest and disease control is carried out throughout the year.