What to Do About Poor Apple Coloring? Cause Analysis and Solutions
Apple is the most widely grown fruit in the world, and China is also an apple-producing and exporting country, with cultivation in every region. During the fruit ripening period, apples go through a coloring stage. The quality of the coloring determines the quality of the apples; poor coloring leads to a decline in quality and can affect growers' economic returns. So what causes poor apple coloring? How should it be solved? Let's take a look together.
1. Poor variety
After many years of cultivation, there are many apple varieties, and varieties introduced early on have begun to age, leading to poor coloring, such as Changfu No. 2. In this situation, choose varieties bred later, such as the Yanfu series, Red General (Hong Jiangjun) and other varieties with better coloring.
2. Insufficient light and water
Light and water are important factors before apple coloring. If the orchard is densely planted and closed in, with poor ventilation, the fruit cannot get enough sunlight and will fail to color. In addition, during the apple coloring period, if there is drought with no rain, apple coloring will also be poor.
For insufficient light and water, strengthen orchard management, prune the trees in time, improve ventilation and light penetration between trees so the fruit gets enough sunlight to color, water in time during drought to keep the soil moist, and at the same time increase the humidity in the orchard to promote fruit coloring.
3. Unbalanced nutrition
Unbalanced nutrition is also an important cause of poor apple coloring. In an environment with excess nitrogen and insufficient potassium, apples will color poorly, and a lack of magnesium will cause them to lose green. The main reason for this phenomenon is that growers fertilize blindly without achieving a balanced nutritional mix, applying inorganic or chemical fertilizers over the long term, applying little organic fertilizer, emphasizing nitrogen fertilizer while neglecting phosphate and potassium fertilizers, or not applying potassium fertilizer at all. This makes soil elements unbalanced and unable to supply all the elements the trees need for growth, thus affecting yield and quality.
In this situation, change the fertilization method and attach importance to applying organic fertilizer. When fertilizing, mainly use organic fertilizer, with inorganic or chemical fertilizer as a supplement, apply as little chemical fertilizer as possible, and also pay attention to the combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Especially during the coloring period, pay attention to the use of potassium and magnesium fertilizers to meet what the fruit needs for normal coloring.
4. Improper pruning
Apples are generally pruned in summer and autumn, mainly to remove upright vigorous shoots, water sprouts, overly dense branches, crossing branches and overlapping branches, to improve ventilation and light penetration in the orchard, promote photosynthesis, accumulate more nutrients, and at the same time reduce unnecessary nutrient consumption so the trees can grow better. However, if pruning is done too late or is excessive, it will have the opposite effect and affect normal apple coloring.
Pruning should be based on the growth status of the trees and the conditions in the orchard. Prune appropriately, and also master the timing of pruning; it should be done at the latest before bag removal.
5. Poor bagging quality
Poor bagging quality also affects apple coloring. If low-quality bags are chosen, their shading is poor and they do not withstand rain washing, are very easily damaged and broken, and do not serve the purpose of bagging. Bagging is meant to inhibit the formation of chlorophyll in the plant and promote the synthesis of anthocyanins, and improper timing of bagging and bag removal will also lead to poor coloring.
When choosing bags, buy from reputable manufacturers and choose high-quality double-layer paper bags with good shading and resistance to rain washing. The bagging time should be controlled to after the young fruit reaches 30 days of age, and bag removal should be 1-2 weeks before harvest. Observe carefully before harvest: varieties that color well should have their bags removed appropriately earlier, while varieties that color poorly should have their bags removed appropriately later.
The above are the causes of poor apple coloring and the solutions. We hope this helps you. To learn more about apple cultivation, please stay tuned to us.