What causes loquat to bear no fruit, and how to solve it?
The loquat is a small evergreen tree, mainly grown in southern regions. Its fruit tastes sweet, the flesh is soft and juicy, and it has high nutritional value, making it highly favored by consumers. It also has the effects of clearing lung and stomach heat and descending qi and resolving phlegm, and is often made with other medicinal materials into “Chuanbei Loquat Paste.” But many friends wonder: the loquat tree grown at home for many years has not borne fruit. What is the reason for this? Let's take a look with QinNong.com.
1. The fruiting time has not yet arrived
Unlike other fruits, which bear fruit the same year they are planted, or are planted one year and bear fruit the next, the loquat has an extremely long growth cycle. Generally, from planting to fruiting, under normal conditions, it takes 5-6 years. So the loquat trees grown at home by many friends may bear no fruit because the fruiting time has not yet arrived, and patience is needed. Loquat cultivation takes an extremely long time, and if you do not want to wait so many years, you can use grafting techniques to cultivate grafted seedlings that flower and fruit easily. Generally, a loquat tree grown from seed needs at least 5 years to bear fruit, while a grafted seedling only needs three years to flower and fruit.
2. Variety and soil
The above is about the fruiting time not yet arriving. If the planting time exceeds 5-6 years and there is still no fruit, the greatest possibility is a problem with the variety and the soil. Some varieties, after many years of introduction and cultivation, may undergo variety degeneration or reversion. Apart from its place of origin, where it can flower and fruit normally, in other non-place-of-origin areas flowering and fruiting may be more difficult. For this situation, grafting is needed to improve the variety. Also, a lack of certain trace elements in the soil can cause difficulty in flowering and fruiting. In this case, fertilizer should be applied in time, fertilizer and water management should be strengthened, and the content of trace elements in the soil should be increased, so that the plant can bear fruit normally.
3. Improper pruning
During cultivation, in order to make the plant branch more, grow more vigorously, and flower and fruit more, pruning work is generally carried out on young trees. This method is correct, but if pruning is improper or excessive, causing the tree body to be excessively cut back, it will inevitably cause vigorous growth later, unstable tree vigor, and difficulty in flowering and fruiting. When pruning, the goal is shaping, with the purpose of increasing branches and expanding the canopy and stabilizing tree vigor. Excessive pruning is inadvisable, as it affects its normal growth.
4. Poor pollination
The loquat tree is not divided into male and female, but it is a cross-pollinated plant. Male flowers and female flowers grow separately, and only when the pollen of the male flower touches the stigma of the female flower's pistil will the female flower be fertilized and thus bear fruit; otherwise, it will not bear fruit. Generally, the pollination method is through natural wind, as well as bees collecting nectar and insects for pollination. But if due to climate or other reasons these pathways cannot pollinate normally, it will lead to no fruit. For this situation, artificial assisted pollination is needed. When pollinating, choose an overcast day or the early morning or evening of a sunny day, avoiding strong midday sunlight and rainy weather, so as to avoid pollination failure. Remove the male flowers and collect the pollen, use a cotton swab to dip the pollen and smear it on the female flower's pistil, and pollination can be completed, or directly use the male flower's pistil to touch the female flower's style.
The above are the causes of and solutions for loquat bearing no fruit brought to you by QinNong.com. To learn more about loquat cultivation knowledge, please stay tuned to QinNong.com.