Many gardeners and gardeners are faced with the problem of shedding apples. The causes of apple shedding may be caused by diseases or pests, improper care, or natural processes.
In this article we will look at why apples fall prematurely, whether it is possible to put apples in the drop of corn in compost and what to do with falling apples.
Table of contents
The reasons why apples fall prematurely
Diseases and pests
The reason why apples fall from an apple tree may be fruit rot, which occurs when an apple tree is damaged by a crop moth. This is one of the most dangerous pests. Inspect the fallen apples, cut with a knife, if they are wormy, then the reason lies precisely in it. The apple tree sheds the fruits of the caterpillar.
To help the tree, you need to install trap belts on it, remove the dead bark from the tree and burn it along with the carrion. Under the affected tree to lay an oilcloth, so that parasites fall on it, and not into the ground. Apple itself must be treated with a drug designed to combat this pest.
Improper care
It happens that the tree looks healthy, is not affected by pests, and the apples fall without ripening. This can occur for several reasons.
Lack or excess of moisture. In case of lack of moisture, the leaves take it from the fruit and the apples fall off.Very often this happens with trees that grow on light soils, as well as grafted on dwarf rootstocks, with a surface root.
To determine whether the tree requires watering, you need to squeeze the soil in your hand, taken under the crown of the tree, if the lump crumbles - the tree needs to be watered.
Too abundant watering leads to a lack of oxygen, which is why the root is not able to fully provide both fruits and leaves with moisture.
How to water the apple trees correctly?
For normal growth and development of the tree, watering three times a day is sufficient if the soil is soaked to a depth of at least 80 cm. The first time the apple trees are watered in May, before flowering, the second time - in late June, during fruit moth, and the third - in autumn, before frost.
Depending on the age and development of the tree depends on the rate of watering. At one watering will need:
- young annual trees - 2-3 buckets per 1 m2 of the trunk ring;
- two year old trees - 4-5 buckets;
- trees from three to five years - 5-8 buckets;
- adult apple trees - 6-10 buckets.
For watering around the perimeter of the crown of the tree, you need to make an earthen roller, and pour water over its ring, and not under the trunk of the apple tree.
Incorrect feeding. If you overdo it in the spring with nitrogen fertilizer, humus, manure or urea, the flesh of the apples will be very loose and most likely, most of them will lose the tree. To avoid this, you need to water the apple superphosphate solution at the rate of 30 g per 10 liters of water. Per 1 m2 of the circle of the trunk make one bucket of solution.
Another reason why apples fall off early can be a lack of potassium. Such a problem is solved by feeding the tree with potash fertilizer.
Falling - as a natural process
As a rule, apple trees have large flower buds, each bud gives 5-6 flowers, of which only 5-10% will produce fruits. The rest of the flowers either peel off without giving the ovary, or the tree drops the knotted apples after flowering, it is advisable to immediately remove such fruits. This process is called tree self-cleaning.
It happens that too many apples are tied up on an apple tree and it drops a part of them, because the branches of the tree do not withstand their gravity.
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Sometimes it happens that apples fall down, reaching its removable maturity, such a phenomenon is explained by the peculiarity of the variety. This feature is characteristic of the varieties Grushovka Moskovskaya, Mayak, Manten, Soncedar and others. Fallen apples are picked and allowed to rest.
To ensure the suitability of the fruit, cut the apple - if the bone is brown and there are no worms in it, it's time to harvest. First you need to collect apples from the lower branches, then on the periphery, and then on the top of the tree.
Other reasons why apples fall in the garden
Insufficient pollination. The apple tree is a cross-grown culture; it is very important to select varieties that would pollinate each other. It is very important that during their flowering pollinating insects be present in the garden: bees, bumblebees, butterflies. In order to attract them, you can plant honey plants in the garden, for example, garden geranium, the beginning of flowering of some of its species coincides with the flowering period of apple trees.
Late frosts. Sometimes there are frosts after fruit ovary, and as a result, apples fall. To help the tree, you need to treat it with the drug "Ovary" or a solution of boric acid at the rate of 2 g per 10 liters of water.
What can you do with fallen apples?
And now let's consider what to do with the fallen apples in the country and what to do with the carrion. Fallen apples can be used for cooking compotes or drying. Apples cut into pieces dried or immediately boiled compote out of them.
Many people prepare confiture from vinegar or vinegar.
To make jam, apples are cut into small cubes or minced. Pour some water into a saucepan with a thick bottom (approximately 1/3 of the total volume of apples) and add chopped apples, boil for half an hour on a quiet fire, stirring occasionally. Then add sugar to taste and continue to cook. The readiness of the confiture is determined by dropping a drop on the plate, if it does not blur, the confiture is ready.
Hot confiture spread in sterilized jars and rolled.
To prepare apple cider vinegar, finely chop the apples, put them in a jar and pour water with sugar (30 g sugar per 1 liter of water) so that it completely covers the apples. A jar is tied with a napkin and left to ferment in the heat. When the apples are fermented, filter the vinegar, bottled and close the lid tight.
The use of rotten apples of the windfall as a fertilizer in the country
Autumn apples can be buried in the beds as fertilizer, which are being prepared for next year. Bury fallen apples as deep as possible, chopping them before that.
Sandalwood can be used to make compost. In the compost lay apples without parasites and signs of disease. Rotten fruit can also be used, since during fermentation the putrefactive microorganisms will die under the influence of high temperature.
Compost is prepared using peat, chicken manure or manure, straw, paper, natural fabrics, kitchen waste (raw egg shells, cutting raw fruits and vegetables, tea brewing, coffee grounds) garden waste (mowed grass, fallen leaves, sawdust, thin branches, slivers, carrion).
Before laying, all the components of the compost are crushed, at the bottom of a compost pit or a specially made for this purpose box or collet, cutting branches, chips, straw, then a thin layer of earth are laid, waste is alternated again, and each waste layer is 30 to 50 cm. , layer of earth - 5-10 cm. It is very important to alternate dry waste with wet, nitrogenous and carbonaceous. The more organic waste, the higher the quality of the compost.
After filling, the compost store is closed with a lid or covered with an oilcloth, a piece of linoleum or carpet, this is done to maintain the desired temperature and proper preparation.
If the compost is prepared in summer, to maintain the desired humidity, it is slightly watered once a week. This will help him to ripen faster.
Compost should not smell bad. The stench suggests that it is prepared incorrectly.The smell of ammonia means that too many nitrogen components have been incorporated. To correct the situation, you need to add torn paper and cardboard to the compost. The smell of rotten eggs indicates a lack of oxygen, you need to shake the compost mass and add straw or chips.
The readiness of the compost is indicated by smell, it smells of forest land, the mass is dark in color, moist and crumbly.
Having prepared the compost, you will get an excellent organic fertilizer, rich in useful trace elements and easy to use, with which you can improve the structure of the soil, feed the garden and increase its fertility.
Finally, an interesting video, how to dispose of apples caddles: