Fruit not maturing on cherry tree

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by randbguy, Jun 12, 2007.

  1. biggam

    biggam Active Member

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    Those would not be the cherry fruit fly that lays its eggs in the fruit. These emerge much later in the year, maybe June; check with OMAFRA -- they have a lot online. Plum curculio would be an earlier season pest to start worrying about.

    Speaking of flies, there are many beneficial flies out there; some pollinate flowers just as bees do, while others have larvae which feed on pests like aphids and caterpillars.
     
  2. randbguy

    randbguy Member

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    Thanks Biggam! That's a relief for sure as I don't know what the timing is on the flies that lay eggs that eat the cherry fruit. I will have a look at the OMAFRA site for particulars.

    John
     
  3. randbguy

    randbguy Member

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    Well folks, things are looking alot better this year so far! I have quite a few forming cherries, and they are all maturing with no thinning so far. I will attach a photo so you can see the improvement.
     

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  4. Ottawa-Zone5

    Ottawa-Zone5 Active Member

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    I hope you will let us know what you did in between the last season and this that might have made the difference.
     
  5. randbguy

    randbguy Member

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    Man, I'm not thrilled with the turn of events in the last few days. About 75% of the forming fruit is turning yellow and dropping off. I'll post a picture.
     

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  6. Ottawa-Zone5

    Ottawa-Zone5 Active Member

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    Among my cherry trees, North Star is the only one which has cherry fruits on it and appears the same amount as in your picture. It also shows some fruits on all branches turning yellow and dropping or ready to drop but others on the same branches are getting bigger and some gradually getting a bit of red blush. So what is happening could be nature way of fruit pruning based on what the tree system can afford to ripen.
     
  7. Buddleia

    Buddleia Active Member 10 Years

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    This thread gave me pause to check my own Montmorency out and it has no fruit! Last year it had a good amount but nothing this year. I have noticed a decrease in bee activity this year so that could be it because it had blossoms.
     
  8. happyjohnnynz

    happyjohnnynz Member

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    I'm in New Zealand and EXACTLY the same thing is happening to /my/ Cherry trees!

    Did anyone ever figure out what is causing this?

    I have two cherry trees, both dwarf (one stella, one lapin); they are growing in large pots in a full sun position.

    Exactly the same, they /were/ covered with loads of green fruit, but now most of the fruit have turned yellow and are falling off :(

    I don't think it has anything to do with pollination as I hand-pollinated my trees. The unpollinated flowers dried and dropped without producing any green fruit.

    If someone could please enlighten us as to what is going wrong I will be most appreciative.

    thanks :)

    Edit:
    I recevied a reply from the nursery I bought my trees from; they said the following:
    "Don't worry, I don't think you have done anything wrong. The tree produces more flowers than it can produce fruit, and in a good year produces too much fruit. All to make sure that there will be fruit left if things go wrong. If things go right, the tree will abort some of the fruit. The trees usually have 2 cycles of adjustment, you have just seen the first cycle, there will be another cycle in a couple of weeks. And if all is well you will still have some cherries left. "

    But if anyone still has any other ideas please speak up! I don't expect that we are supposed to be losing such a high percentage of the fruit from such healthy trees!
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2008
  9. mariogazoole

    mariogazoole New Member

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    Hi people,
    I just signed in to this forum.
    The reason is because I have the exact same problem as described above.
    I have 3 Montmorrency cherry trees from 10 to 20 years of age with thousands of blossoms but all fruit turn yellow and fall off when they are about half size.

    Last year, for the first time, all leaves fell around mid summer.

    Did anyone ever find out what was causing this?
     
  10. randbguy

    randbguy Member

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    Hello! I can feel for you. First off, you have some kind of fungus or blight
    Affecting the foliage. I always got a bit of that too. Try to clean up all the
    Leaves and burn them or dispose of them to kill the infection. That will
    Proliferate and come back if you don't. When the fruit is scuttled like that
    The tree is trying to protect itself by not waisting energy on fruit production
    I used fruit tree fertilizer spikes and pruned out any disease or dead branches.
    The tree took a few years nut is doing well now. I used a lime sulphur dorment
    Oil mix before the buds open in early spring too. Thats my two cents worth. Just experience no real credentials. Good luck!
     

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