What to do about lychee fruit cracking? Causes and control methods
Lychee trees encounter many problems during cultivation. To make sure everyone can enjoy sweet, fresh lychees, how can these problems be better solved? Today, the editor brings you the most common problem in lychee cultivation: what to do about lychee fruit cracking. Let's solve it together with the editor below!
Causes of lychee fruit cracking
The most likely cause of lychee fruit cracking is uneven water supply within the lychee tree. For example, after a very dry period, a sudden heavy rain makes the lychee tree absorb too much water, causing the fruit to contain excessive water and the peel to split. It may also be that the soil lacks calcium; if the lychee peel has too little calcium, it becomes thin and soft, and tears very easily. In addition, there are pests and diseases, such as stink bugs and leaf roller moths, which gnaw on the peel and can also cause lychee fruit cracking. Also, different varieties have different degrees of fruit cracking. For example, Nuomici is a cracking-prone variety, while Feizixiao has less fruit cracking.
Symptoms of lychee fruit cracking
Lychee fruit cracking generally appears as split peel with the flesh exposed. This situation does not appear only on a single fruit or a single tree; at minimum a few trees are affected, and at most an entire mu. It is generally large-scale fruit cracking. Fruit cracking causes the fruit to drop. After dropping, because there are fewer fruits, the lychee tree will transport more water and nutrients to the remaining fruits. In this way it enters a cyclical stage until all the fruits on the tree have dropped. If the drop is caused by pests and diseases, the cracked fruits should be dealt with as soon as possible to prevent transmission to other fruit trees.
Control of lychee fruit cracking
First, if you do not want fruit cracking to occur, choose varieties that are not prone to cracking when planting. For example, Feizixiao, Heiye, and so on. Then, in daily lychee management, the soil moisture level should be maintained. During the rainy season, drain excess accumulated water in time and remove water from the top of the tree. Also pay attention to adding an appropriate amount of calcium to the soil, such as calcium magnesium phosphate and lime. When young fruits appear, spray organic calcium in time. And pay special attention to pest control, spraying appropriate agents or manually catching and killing pests. Do not let diseases damage the peel.
Many friends do not pay much attention to lychee fruit cracking, but this will directly affect your economic benefits. Growing lychees is a very long process and requires more patience and care. If fruit cracking occurs, check as soon as possible what caused the cracking, and then treat it accordingly! If you want to learn more about agriculture, please continue to follow Qinnong Network.