Premature drop

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by Vince, Jun 15, 2020.

  1. Vince

    Vince New Member

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    I have an Italian plum tree it had many plums at the beginning of the season they were the size of your thumbnail and then they all fell off while they were still green. Can someone tell me why that might have happened and what I can do to prevent that in the future?
     
  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    How were your pollinators this year? Anything happen weather-wise in the springtime that was unusual?
     
  3. Vince

    Vince New Member

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    This spring we had many hot and cold swings probably a little bit more than usual. As far as the pollinators I wasn’t paying too much attention if there were many bees in the area. Although I haven’t seen many wasps nests this season either.
     
  4. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    It's possible that the cold swings and reduced amount of pollinators overall coincided (although there are other explanations as well). If the flower isn't pollinated, fruits can be aborted in some plants (from an economic-evolutionary perspective: don't sink resources into something for no net benefit)
     

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