Latest Analysis of the Causes of the Alternate Bearing Phenomenon in Fruit Trees
When alternate bearing is mentioned, many people are surely familiar with it, especially in fruit trees, where a phenomenon of one year of high yield followed by one year of low yield often occurs. If this year brings a high yield, then the following year may bring a low yield or even no fruit. If this phenomenon is not controlled in time, it may form a vicious cycle, greatly shortening the lifespan of the fruit trees and seriously affecting the economic returns of fruit growers. So what are the causes of alternate bearing in fruit trees? Let us learn about them together.
1. Extreme climate
During the growth and development of fruit trees, when normally fruiting fruit trees encounter harsh climates such as extreme drought, excessive rainfall, abnormal freezing damage, hail, and late spring cold, all of these can lead to weakened tree vigor in the following year, a serious reduction in the number of flowers and fruits, or a large-scale drop of flowers and fruits, causing reduced yield and resulting in an off year. After an off year, the number of fruits is small and nutrient consumption is relatively low, so the tree accumulates more nutrients, and in the following year it produces larger fruits, thus resulting in an on year.
2. Tree load
Many fruit growers believe that the more flowers and fruits a fruit tree bears, the higher the later yield will be, so during the young fruit stage they are reluctant to thin flowers and fruits, and this is also the main cause of normal alternate bearing. When a fruit tree has too many flowers and set fruits, it consumes a large amount of tree nutrients, causing an imbalance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, leading to reduced nutrients for branch growth, and flower bud differentiation of the fruit tree will be inhibited, which will lead to a reduction in the number of flowers and fruits in the following year and the appearance of an off year. After an off year, an on year will immediately follow.
3. Improper pruning
When fruit growers prune, they do not pay attention to pruning methods, for example, the ratio of vegetative branches to fruiting branches is unreasonable, or fruit trees are lightly pruned and left unpruned for consecutive years or heavily pruned. Pruning methods like these may all cause the alternate bearing phenomenon.
4. Variety characteristics
Different varieties of fruit trees have different growth characteristics, so the probability of alternate bearing also differs. For example, early-maturing and mid-maturing varieties of fruit trees have a lower probability of alternate bearing, while late-maturing varieties of fruit trees have a relatively higher probability of alternate bearing; mature and old fruit trees have more serious alternate bearing than young fruit trees; the pear trees, persimmon trees, and stone fruit and small berry fruit trees common in our lives have milder alternate bearing, but grapes, peaches, jujubes, pomegranates, and other fruit trees are extremely prone to alternate bearing, so attention should be paid when planting.
The above is an introduction to the causes of the alternate bearing phenomenon in fruit trees. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please follow us.