What causes grape berry cracking?
Why do grapes crack? What are the reasons? The main causes of grape berry cracking are: 1. In the late stage of fruit growth, soil moisture changes too much; after a long drought followed by rain or flood irrigation, the roots absorb a large amount of water from the soil and transport it into the fruit. The physiological activity and division of cells near the brush (the attachment point of the berry to the stem) speed up, while the cells near the skin...
Why do grapes crack? What are the reasons?
The main causes of grape berry cracking are:
1. In the late stage of fruit growth, soil moisture changes too much. After a long drought followed by rain or flood irrigation, the roots absorb a large amount of water from the soil and transport it into the fruit. The physiological activity and division of cells near the brush (the attachment point of the berry to the stem) speed up, while the cells near the skin are slower to respond, causing the fruit's turgor pressure to surge and the skin to split lengthwise.
2. It is related to variety characteristics. The skin is not firm; for example, Fujiminori grape skin is very thin and cracks extremely easily. When the skin clings tightly to the flesh and is hard to peel, as in varieties such as Bronx Seedless, the skin and flesh stick tightly together, and as the flesh expands, part of the skin is often squeezed and stretched until it splits. When berries are packed too tightly against one another, as in the case of Kyoho, increased turgor pressure plus pressure between berries makes splitting easy.
3. Causes from cultivation management: during grape growth, disease occurs, and leaves wilt suddenly or are damaged by disease; also, when the leaf-to-fruit ratio is too small and leaf transpiration is weak, a large amount of water has to be transported into the fruit, thus causing berry cracking.
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Click to see more fruit growing techniques