What causes low fruit set in passion fruit? How to solve it
Passion fruit has a unique fragrance and delicious taste, and is deeply loved by consumers, with good market returns, so more and more farmers are growing it. However, many fruit growers find during cultivation that their passion fruit has an extremely low fruit set rate, which also leads to relatively low yields, seriously affecting returns. So what causes the low fruit set rate of passion fruit? How should it be solved? Follow the editor to learn about it.
I. Causes of low fruit set rate
1. Adverse climate effects
The suitable temperature for the flowering period of passion fruit is 20-25 degrees. When the temperature is higher than 30 degrees, it will lead to incomplete development of floral organs, poor stickiness of the pistil stigma, atrophy of the pollen tube, and both pollen germination of male flowers and pollen tube elongation will be affected, which is unfavorable for pollination and fertilization. In addition, when it rains during the flowering period, the pollen is affected by rainwater and becomes damp, basically losing its germination ability, while insect activity is also inhibited, causing the fruit set rate to become lower.
2. Unbalanced nutrition during the flowering period
When passion fruit flowers and fruits, it consumes a large amount of nutrients. If nutrient supply is insufficient or unbalanced at this time, it will cause a relatively low fruit set rate. For example, when too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied, it will cause excessive vine growth, while boron deficiency affects the formation of the pollen tube, causing flowers without fruit, and when magnesium, zinc and other elements are lacking, it will affect flower quality and cause the fruit set rate to decline.
3. Invasion of pests and diseases
When pests such as thrips break out during the flowering period, it is very easy to cause damage to the floral organs, ultimately affecting the fruit set rate, and viral diseases easily cause poor flower bud differentiation, reducing the fruit set rate.
II. Solutions
When the natural pollination rate of passion fruit is relatively low, pollination and fertilization of passion fruit can be assisted by arranging pollinator trees, placing bees, attracting bees and artificial pollination, thereby improving the fruit set rate. In high temperature and drought weather, the orchard can be sprayed with water to cool down before 10 a.m., effectively improving the cultivation environment, promoting the normal growth and development of floral organs, and effectively increasing the fruit set rate. At the same time, attention should be paid to nutrient supplementation. In addition to conventional fertilization, foliar spraying of cytokinin and Sea Elf biological stimulant can also be carried out during the flower bud differentiation stage and flower bud stage, which can effectively improve flower quality and fruit set rate. Prevention work should be done well in the early stage, and medication should be used cautiously during the flowering period to avoid pesticide damage affecting the fruit set rate.
The above is an introduction to the causes of low fruit set rate in passion fruit and the solutions. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please follow us.