What should be done when ginkgo trees drop their fruit?

Ginkgo is a large deciduous tree with a very long growth cycle; the oldest ginkgo trees have now been growing for several hundred years. Of course, the main value of the ginkgo tree lies in its fruit. Ginkgo fruit combines medicinal and edible uses, though it should not be eaten in large amounts within a single day, because ginkgo fruit contains a certain level of toxicity. But now many growers run into a problem: during cultivation they find that ginkgo trees frequently drop their fruit. So what should be done in this situation? Let's take a look together below!

1. Fertilizing

When the ginkgo tree blooms and young fruit appears, it should be top-dressed at least twice: the first top-dressing during the fruit enlargement stage, and the second during the kernel growth stage. During the fruit enlargement stage, apply phosphate fertilizer and other trace-element fertilizers to promote the growth and development of the fruit. During the kernel growth stage, apply a mixed fertilizer of urea and phosphate fertilizer, with the amount determined by the tree's growth and fruiting conditions. This increases the accumulation of nutrients in the tree, improves the tree's resistance, and reduces fruit drop.

2. Water

Ginkgo trees like neither excessive water nor drought. In dry weather such as summer, water should be given promptly, because drought will hinder the enlargement of ginkgo fruit, making it impossible to raise yields, and will also worsen fruit drop and affect flower bud differentiation the following year. If there is continuous rainy weather, severe waterlogging in the orchard, and drainage is not done in time, the standing water will prevent the roots from breathing and lead to insufficient nutrient uptake, causing the parts near the ground to begin dropping leaves and fruit. So we must do a good job of orchard drainage and irrigation in time to raise the fruit-setting rate of ginkgo.

3. Pruning

When the ginkgo tree reaches the flowering stage, it needs a large amount of light and nutrients. If the tree does not get sufficient sunlight and water, the fruit will grow poorly, the fruit stalks will begin to turn yellow, and the fruit will start to drop. So during cultivation, we should properly prune out the water sprouts, overly dense branches and overlapping branches in the tree. But note that the wounds after pruning need to be properly wrapped to prevent the loss of water and nutrients through the wounds. In this way, the air and light penetration within the tree can be enhanced, nutrient accumulation in the tree can be strengthened, and the fruit drop phenomenon can thus be changed.

4. Fruit thinning

Ginkgo trees differ from other fruit trees: their growth is divided into on-years and off-years. In an on-year, the number of fruit on the tree increases, easily exceeding what the branches can bear; if fruit is not thinned in time, the branches will break under the weight. Moreover, if there is too much fruit, the nutrients required will also increase, causing all the nutrients to be transported to the fruit, so the branches and leaves do not get enough nutrients. This will also make the on-year and off-year situation more serious, so we should do the fruit-thinning work well at the young fruit stage to prevent fruit drop caused by excessive fruit later on.

The four points above are the methods for solving ginkgo fruit drop. Of course, what I have introduced is not very comprehensive; I have simply discussed it from these few aspects. What everyone also needs to pay attention to is the work of preventing and controlling pests and diseases, which are also a main cause of ginkgo fruit drop. For example, the silkworm moth is one of them; an appropriate amount of pesticide can be used for control to reduce the probability of fruit drop. This article is for reference only, and I hope it is helpful to everyone.