My lemon tree is developing problems. I had it planted in my garden in Turkey in March 2004 and it did bloom and produce a few lemons winter 2005. Then it blossomed again in 2005 and produced a few more lemons and then reblossomed a few weeks later. The vast majority of lemons never grew and turned black but remained on the tree, about ten lemons grew and were ripened and picked 2006, again the tree bloomed and produced more baby lemons mostly black. Some of the dormant 2005 crop started to grow but were knobbly and at about 1 inch fell off. I now notice that some of the leaves are turning yellow. I have had mealy bugs but have managed to control them. Any advice gratefully accepted.
There is probably nothing wrong with your tree. A citrus tree will only retain and mature 1-2 percent of the fruit the originally develop, the rest will fall from the tree. Lastly, citrus leaves have a life span of 15 - 24 months, then turn yellow, die and drop from the tree. As I did not see a picture of your tree's leaves I cannot tell if this is the reason that they are turning yellow, or if it is due to a deficiency. However, the period of greatest normal leaf drop is after a citrus tree's blooming period. - Millet
Millet, So the fruit turning black is not an indicator of something else? Does the color change only happen under certain environmental conditions? I've not seen this with the fruit drop from my trees.
When a citrus tree sheds its excess fruit (or leaves) the tree develops a layer of cells with very thin walls (abscission layer) which extends entirely across the leaf petiole or the fruit's stalk. This abscission layer is at the point of separation. When actual abscission occurs these thin cells absorb excessive amounts of water and become gelatinized, and abscission takes place easily. However, it is not uncommon for the abscission layer not to complete the gelatin process (especially under warm conditions) and therefore the fruit remains attached to the banch and does not drop. When this occurs the excess fruitlet continues to die and turns a dark brown or black. I have black dead fruitlets on my trees at the present time. Just leave them alone or the grower can pick them off if he/she wishes. - Millet