Re: Walnut & Almond tree dropping fruit
> Schmiege wrote:
>
> Could someone tell me why my walnut tree is loosing its good sized
> walnuts. The tree is about 15 years old and I can see light vane
> lines on the leaves. The leaves are medium green in color. My almond
> tree also dropped its almonds earlier this year. It has done this for
> the second or third year in a row. 98 % of the almonds drop.
>
> L. Schmiege.
Hi
Two quite dissimilar trees showing the same problem sounds to me more
likely environmental rather than due to a pathogen.
My best guess is that they do not have sufficient water to carry the
crop to maturity. Swelling fruit eventually contains a good deal of
water and a tree which is very short will obviously first sacrifice its
fruit before dryness seriously damages its twigs or roots.
If that is the right answer I think you will have to look to providing
more water as the fruit grows, both by direct application (A good dollop
maybe once a week if you can manage it) and also by conserving soil
moisture through the growing season with thick mulches over the entire
root system.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
