The post-bloom stage of citrus fruit is to ensure continued fruit set, a major consumer of water and nutrients, without weakening the rest of the tree (roots, leaves and stems). Here are the 3 steps to prevent citrus fruit cracking.
Throughout the fattening stage, coinciding in many varieties with spring and summer, the continuous changes in temperature and humidity can jeopardize the quality of the fruit and reduce the resistance of the skin.
The origin of fruit cracking in citrus fruits
The origin of citrus rind cracking is largely due to sudden changes in soil and environmental temperature, which, unable to tolerate the changes of stretching and compression of the rind, ends up cracking.
In stages of high temperatures and low humidity, both in the air and in the soil, citrus peel increases its tension, stretching and losing its mechanical resistance. It is at this moment when a sudden change in humidity (such as a rain, for example), causes the citrus fruit to capture more water than it normally does, causing a pronounced fattening of the fruit that puts the fruit to the limit or even breaks the rind of the fruit, causing the so-called cracking or Splitting.
Therefore, proper tree nutrition, as well as correct fertigation management and fruit load management, considerably reduce this very common physiopathy in citrus.
Here are 3 steps to prevent citrus fruit cracking.
How to reduce fruit cracking in citrus fruit
1. Choice of varieties with greater resistance
If we are in an area with abrupt changes in air and soil humidity, especially in areas where stormy rains are common, it is important to choose varieties that offer greater resistance and elasticity of the skin.
In Spain, it is common to observe incidences of this physiopathy in varieties such as Navel, Navelate and Navelina, for orange trees, and Oroval, Nova or Ortanique in mandarins and hybrids.
Optimal irrigation water management
Reducing any kind of stress considerably prevents this phenomenon, which reduces fruit quality. Therefore, water management is one of the most important tasks.
Our objective is to ensure good water availability in the soil to maintain a balanced moisture content during all stages of fruit set. Therefore, if there are no climatic incidences, such as untimely rains, an optimal fertigation program will minimize the physiopathology of citrus cracking.
3. The importance of fertigation and foliar nutrition.
At a nutritional level, elements such as calcium and potassium are of great importance against cracking, since the former is responsible for giving structure and resistance to the bark, and the latter regulates the water pressure inside the plant.
Therefore, these 2 nutrients should never be missing in a fertigation plan, especially in varieties that tend to show this physiopathology in an important way.
Foliar application of potassium
It has been shown that providing potassium in fertigation and supplementing it with several foliar applications during the fruit fattening season considerably reduces fruit cracking.
It is important that this application is made at the beginning of fruit fattening, early.
Continuous application of calcium
Calcium, in turn, minimizes the risk and fragility of the fruit rind to cracking, increasing the tensile and compressive strength that occurs with sudden changes in humidity during spring and summer.
Copper as a forgotten micronutrient
Although copper is widely used for the prevention and control of different diseases, at a nutritional level it is of great importance as a micronutrient.
In fact, against fruit cracking, it has shown synergistic activity together with calcium applications. Its activity favors cell wall thickening, increasing skin resistance.
This microelement activates the production of organic compounds that are part of the cell wall, such as pectin, lignin or cellulose. Foliar applications of calcium with copper after flowering reduce fruit cracking and cracking.
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