What are the latest causes of soft berries in grapes?

When grapes reach the final stage of ripening and harvest, soft berries followed by berry drop often occur. There are many reasons for this phenomenon in grapes. But the final result is the same, seriously affecting the quality and yield of the grapes and causing them to lose their commercial value. So what exactly causes soft berries in grapes? Let's take a look with the editor!

1. Improper fertilization

The amount of fertilizer required throughout the entire growing period of grapes is relatively large, but the growth stages of grapes have certain requirements for the amount of fertilizer used. For example, if compound fertilizer is over-applied during the period from berry enlargement to color change, it can easily cause fertilizer burn, killing the roots and preventing them from supplying nutrients, resulting in nutrient deficiency. And if nitrogen fertilizer is applied one-sidedly to increase yield, the grapes will absorb too little calcium fertilizer, causing excessive vegetative growth of the leaves, absorbing too many nutrients, and calcium deficiency in the berries, leading to soft berries.

2. Climatic reasons

According to experimental survey results, soft berries in grapes generally have the highest incidence rate in rainy weather. And if such weather is encountered when the grapes are coloring, the grapes will experience reduced photosynthesis due to insufficient light. The grape plant does not have enough sugar, resulting in soft berries. After rainy weather, because the rain causes severe fertilizer loss, there are not enough nutrients and water, which can also cause softening.

3. Overcrowded planting

Grape planting density should not be too sparse or too dense. Too sparse leads to excess nutrients in the grapes, excessive vegetative growth of the branches, and fruit cracking. But too dense causes the branches and leaves to be overly crowded, shading each other, so the lower leaves have no light and cannot carry out photosynthesis, and ventilation and air permeability become poor. And the branches, leaves, and fruits also need large amounts of nutrients. The decline in photosynthetic capacity leads to insufficient nutrition, and the branches, leaves, and fruits compete for nutrients, causing nutritional imbalance in the berries and resulting in softening.

4. Excessive fruit load

Many friends, in pursuit of high yield, pay no attention to the flowers and fruits of the grapes and do not thin the fruit or prune the flowers. As the berries grow larger, the branches bear fruit beyond their capacity, with no nutrient branches. However many flowers are on the branch, that many fruits are kept, causing the leaf-to-fruit ratio to decline and seriously exceeding the bearing capacity of the grapevine. This causes the leaves to fail to provide sufficient nutrients to the berries, and the sugar content of the berries also drops sharply, ultimately causing the grapes to become sour and soft.

There are still many causes of grape softening, such as pests and diseases, flooding damage, hormones, and many other factors. The growth process of grapes is very sensitive and fragile. Orchards should be managed diligently, water and fertilizer should be used appropriately, and targeted measures should be taken according to the condition of the grapes. Use various pesticides reasonably. To learn more about grapes, please continue to follow Qinnong Web!