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Plum is a rather capricious fruit tree. Plum fruits are falling - this is a very common problem among gardeners. It is interesting to figure out why this happens and how to deal with fruit dropping.
Why do plum fruits fall off?
There are many problems that harm the normal development of fruits. It is quite difficult to determine why a plum tree drops fruit. However, the range of probable causes can be narrowed based on the period in which it crumbles.
Why did the plum tree drop its flowers?
The flowering period of plum trees occurs at the end of April or beginning of May. And it often happens that the ovary produces very few flowers - or even falls off before the flowering itself ends.
The reason most often lies in freezing of the ovary. In the middle zone, late frosts are not uncommon - they harm the flowers and can irreversibly damage the ovary.As a rule, you can notice the presence of a problem at the very beginning of flowering - if the pistils and stamens of the plum are brown, it means that frost has caused damage to the ovary.
Why does the ovary of a plum tree fall off?
The ovary is the name given to fruits that have just appeared and are not yet larger than a pea. Normally, the ovary should appear immediately after flowering, so that it can then develop unhindered into large, sweet, ripe berries.
If a plum sheds an ovary and it falls off, most likely the reason lies in poor-quality pollination. Most plums are self-sterile and require proximity to similar varieties - without this, the fruits will not be able to form normally. If there are few pollinators, or they are located too far away, the ovary turns out to be of poor quality - and, accordingly, crumbles even in the early stages.
Why does a plum shed green fruit?
If flowering and ovary went well, then problems may arise at the next stage. When green plum fruits fall off, the reason may be due to several factors.
- First of all, lack of moisture can cause damage. Green plums appear on the branches at the beginning of summer - during this period the weather is often dry. If the roots of the tree do not have enough water, then the plum simply does not have the resources to nourish the ovary - so it crumbles.
- Another common cause is waterlogging of the soil. Excess water for a plum is just as destructive - its roots begin to rot, and this again leads to the fact that the plum fruits fall off.
- Often green plums fall off due to garden pests - for example, the plum sawfly. The larvae of this insect feed on the seeds and pulp of immature, young fruits - which is why the plant drops fruits that are still green.
Plum fruits turn yellow and fall off
In mid-summer, the plum ovary acquires a yellow tint, gradually ripening. But at this stage, the plum also often crumbles and drops young fruits. Most often this occurs due to damage to the ovary by diseases and pests. In particular, the ovary can be damaged by:
- moniliosis;
- Clusterosporiosis;
- coccomycosis;
- rust;
- gum therapy;
- drying out;
- and other diseases of fruit trees.
It is possible that there are other reasons why a yellow plum falls off without ripening - for example, this can still occur due to a lack or excess of moisture.
Why do plum fruits turn blue and fall off?
When plums acquire a dark color, it seems to gardeners that there is no longer any need to fear for the harvest. However, plum fruits fall before ripening and at this stage. Most often this happens due to garden pests - in particular, the fatty leg, which forces the plant to shed its ovary.
The larvae of the fat stalk appear in the ovary in early May or June, shortly after flowering. The insect lays eggs in the ovary pits. It is almost impossible to understand that a plant is affected by a thick stalk, but the plant crumbles. Externally, the ovary develops normally and manages to change color to a rich dark color, but then still drops the fruit.
Plum leaves fall
The problem can be not only that the ovary falls off, but also that the plum sheds its leaves. The following common reasons can be identified:
- Unsuitable soil. Too wet soil or groundwater passing close to the surface contribute to the death of the roots, and accordingly, the plum crumbles.
- Winter deep freezing. Due to low temperatures, the plum tree may not die, but its leaves will begin to turn yellow and fall off en masse in the summer.
- Infections and fungal diseases. For example, the reason for the falling of plum fruits of the Stanley variety and other varieties often lies in coccomycosis, chlorosis, and verticillosis. All of these diseases affect plum leaves, contributing to the appearance of yellow spots. As a result, the tree sheds its leaves and the crown crumbles abundantly.
Why plum fruits fall off: the most common reasons
Having considered the main problems due to which the ovary crumbles and the plum drops its berries, we can identify several main reasons - and delve into them in more detail.
Spring frosts
Sharp cold snaps in the spring are even more dangerous for plums than harsh winters. The fact is that in the spring the ovary wakes up for the growing season. Even slight frosts cause damage to developing flowers and fruits, and the plum falls off before it has time to ripen.
Lack of pollinators
Plum yield and fruit quality directly depend on the quality of pollination. If there are no pollinators, or there are too few of them, or they are located far from the plum tree, then the plant sheds its ovary. And even those fruits that have appeared may fall before they ripen.
Failure to comply with watering rules
Excess or lack of moisture is equally dangerous for plum ovary. With prolonged drought, the roots dry out and die; with stagnant water, they begin to rot and die.All this is reflected in fruiting - as a rule, if watered incorrectly, the plum tree still sets fruit, but crumbles and drops them green or barely yellow.
Lack or excess of nutrients
For healthy development, the plum tree requires balanced feeding with mineral fertilizers and organic matter. A lack of nitrogen, potassium or fluorine will cause plum growth to slow down, and the fruits will form in smaller quantities and fall off. At the same time, excess fertilizer is also dangerous - for example, it is precisely because of the increased content of lime in the soil that a fruit tree is often affected by chlorosis, crumbles and sheds the ovary.
Pests and diseases
Harmful insects and diseases can attack the plum ovary at almost any stage of fruit growth. Diseases most often result from improper plant care - they appear from unsuitable soil, improper watering, and insufficient sanitary pruning.
As for pests, it can be quite difficult to recognize their presence in a plum tree that is crumbling. Some of the insects lay larvae inside the fruit, and at first glance it seems that the plum is in perfect order. Damaged pulp or stone is discovered only upon closer examination of the fallen fruit. Particularly dangerous for plums are the codling moth, sawfly and fat stalk - they eat away the ovary from the inside, leaving almost no noticeable external traces, but the plum drops the fruits.
What to do if plum fruits fall
The most pressing question that worries summer residents is what measures can be taken if a plum tree falls, and what can be done to prevent this from happening in the first place?
- If a plum tree drops its fruits due to damage from winter cold or spring frosts, only high-quality prevention will help. First of all, it is worth planting only frost-resistant varieties in the middle zone and cold regions. In winter, the trunks of plum trees and the ground around them should be covered with spruce branches, the snow should be compacted tightly and a snowdrift should be formed near the trunk - all this protects the ovary from freezing, and in the spring it does not crumble.
- If after the plum blossoms the ovary falls off, then neighboring trees need to be replanted closer to the plum. It is also worth checking once again that the varieties bloom at the same time - perhaps pollination does not occur simply because the flowering periods of the trees do not coincide.
- If the ovary crumbles due to a lack or excess of moisture, you need to reconsider watering. It is carried out as needed - once a month during normal precipitation, every 10 days during a drought. You need to check the condition of the soil around the trunk - if the soil is wet, you can skip watering. If the plum tree is clearly suffering from drought and therefore drops its fruits, you can pour water to the roots ahead of time. You should also take into account the presence of neighboring trees in the immediate vicinity - their roots can take away some of the moisture from the plum.
- If a plum tree loses its ovary due to lack of fertilizer, then most likely you can’t expect a good harvest this year. However, in the summer, in June, the tree still needs to be fed with mixtures containing potassium. In the fall, it is recommended to scatter manure around the trunk, and next spring to apply nitrogenous fertilizers, such as urea.If the plant crumbles from an overabundance of fertilizers, it is necessary to reduce the amount of fertilizing - and pay attention to the composition of the soil, since it is possible that it contains too much lime.
As for pests that cause the plant to shed berries and the ovary to crumble, it is most convenient to combat them with the help of preventive spraying of the ovary. In the spring, during the flowering period, you need to treat the plum so that the fruits do not fall off, with special chemicals - “Fitoverm”, “Lepidotsid”, “Confidor” and “Dantop”. The risk of pest damage to the plum tree can be reduced by digging up the soil around the tree in the fall, and by removing fallen leaves and fruits in a timely manner, preventing them from rotting.
Conclusion
Plum fruits fall off - a very unpleasant problem, but not a death sentence for the plum ovary. If a plum tree crumbles abundantly and drops its fruit, then it is quite difficult to save the current year’s harvest; in any case, it will be smaller. But competent control and prevention will help restore health to the plum tree next year.
