What to Do About Low Fruit Set in Pomegranates? Cause Analysis and Solutions

Pomegranates taste sweet and tart, are delicious and juicy, and are also highly nutritious, making them one of our favorite fruits, with extremely strong market demand and good prospects for cultivation. However, during cultivation, low fruit set in pomegranates is often caused by certain factors, seriously affecting yield and growers' economic returns. So what causes low fruit set in pomegranates, and what should be done? Let's take a look.

1. Insufficient watering and fertilization

Pomegranates need large amounts of nutrients and water during flowering and fruiting. Many growers do not water and fertilize enough during cultivation, resulting in insufficient tree nutrition that cannot support the needs of growth, ultimately leading to low fruit set, and the fruits produced are too small and rather sour.

Solution: Pay attention to fertilizer and water management, and water and fertilize reasonably according to the plant's growth conditions to maintain sufficient nutrients. Generally, fertilization should be done 2-3 times a year to meet the tree's growth needs, with organic fertilizer as the main type and chemical fertilizer as a supplement. Apply sufficient base fertilizer in winter, topdress promptly after the beginning of spring, and topdress once more at flowering and fruiting. The same applies to watering, which should be done 2-3 times a year. The first is a freezing water before the soil freezes, which helps the tree overwinter safely; the second is at the bud stage, to improve fruit set; and the third is after the flowers fade, which allows the young fruits to swell rapidly and increases yield.

2. Improper shaping and pruning

Pomegranates like to grow in an environment with sufficient light; under such conditions they grow more robustly and bear more flowers and fruits. So pruning is usually carried out to remove some residual branches, diseased branches and dense branches, increasing air and light penetration between plants. But some growers prune excessively, or do not prune at all, resulting in poor plant growth and poor air and light penetration, leading to lower fruit set.

Solution: Carry out reasonable and scientific shaping and pruning, and train different tree forms according to planting density. The tree forms include the three-main-trunk open-center form, the double-main-trunk "V" shape and the main-trunk delayed-open form. For plants allowed to grow freely, prune according to their growth conditions, and pruning should be carried out year by year rather than all at once, so as not to damage the tree.

3. Untimely pest and disease control

Pests and diseases are the main factors affecting pomegranate production. They not only lead to low fruit set in pomegranates, but also cause tree decline and plant dwarfing, and in severe cases lead to plant death. The main pests and diseases causing low fruit set include dry rot, peach fruit borer, peach fruit moth and aphids. If these pests and diseases are not controlled in time, fruit may fail to set, or the fruit may be damaged with wormholes.

Solution: Treat each disease with the right remedy. For dry rot, spray with Bordeaux mixture diluted 160 times for control; for peach fruit borer, spray with chlorpyrifos EC at 1500 times dilution; for peach fruit moth, spray with 20% fenvalerate at 3000 times dilution; for aphids, spray with 10% imidacloprid powder at 3000 times dilution.

The above are the causes of low fruit set in pomegranates and the solutions. We hope this helps you. To learn more about pomegranate cultivation, please stay tuned to us.