You were happy to see the developing figs on my fig tree. But all your happiness vanished when you saw the unripe fruits are dropping. I know your feelings.
Don’t worry, you are not alone. If you want to know the fig growing problems to the grower, dropping fig fruits rank on top. And the good news; the problem can be fixed easily.
Before taking any steps to correct the unripe fig dropping problem, you must know the reasons behind it. It can happen due to environmental stress, wrong fertilizer, and dosages, lack of pollination, pest, and diseases.
In this article, I will discuss every reason with the effective controlling measures. So, without losing your most valuable time, let’s get started-
Fig Tree Dropping Fruit-Causes & Fixes
1. Water Stress
Lack of water will be the cause of the fig fruits dropping prematurely. Water stress mostly happens to the fig trees in containers. But the in-ground fig tree fruits can drop because of water stress.
Also, the water stress shows additional symptoms like yellow leaves, curl leaves and leaves drop.
Controlling Measures
First, you should know how much water needs for a fig tree? The quick answer; if there has been no rain, the fig tree needs ½ to 1 inch of water every week.
The best idea; measure the moisture percentage before applying water. Also, you can poke your finger or stick to feel the moisture of the soil.
Also, apply a thin layer of good organic mulch to prevent water loss. If your fig trees are in the container, add some Soil organic matter (SOM) to increases water holding capacity.
2. Wrong Fertilizer, and Dosages
Generally, we apply NPK fertilizer to the fig trees. But the NPK fertilizer will be the best for fig trees if the NPK ratio is perfect for fig.
You know, NPK stands for Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash. Those are the primary nutrients for plants and all are need for different purposes. Nitrogen needs for foliar growth and phosphate for strong roots and fruit maturity and potash is important for overall plant health.
As you saw, all are important for the plant. But too much is bad for plants. If you feed too much nitrogen, your fig plants become bushy and produce immature fruits that will drop suddenly.
Controlling Measures
You can apply organic or inorganic fertilizer. But you must pick the best fertilizer for your fig trees. You can find a lot of specially formulated fertilizer for figs. So, you have to be choosy before pick from them.
Now to prevent overdosage, you should know how often should fertilizer the fig trees? The growing season is the best time to feed the figs.
But the feeding duration depends on the type of fertilizer. If you pick slow-release fertilizer, you don’t need to apply fertilizer frequently.
But if you pick quick-release fertilizer, then you must apply the fertilizer more frequently. You must read the label of your fertilizer to know more about the dosages and fertilizing time.
3. Lack of Pollination
Lack of pollination can be another reason for fig dropping. Improper pollination also happens mostly to the indoor or potted fog trees. There are lots of reasons behind the lack of pollination. The most possible reasons are pesticide and isolation from pollination insects.
If your non-selective pesticide in the flowering stage, the pesticide kills pollinating insects such as honey bees, wasp, and butterflies. And you know, those are the useful insects that help the plant to move pollen from flower to flower.
Controlling Measure
Don’t isolate your fig trees. Place your potted fig trees where the pollinating insects get access to your plants.
And never apply the pesticide in the flowering stage. If you notice any harmful insects in that stage. Pick the manually and kill them. Or apply an insecticide that doesn’t kill useful insects.
Want to know the best way to get rid of the lack of pollination?
Avoid Caprifig, Smyrna, and San Pedro varieties of the fig. Because they are not self-pollinating figs. Other varieties are self-pollinating. They don’t need insects to pollinate.
4. Pest and Diseases
Your fig fruits also drop because of pests and diseases. Fig mosaic, pink limb blight, and leaf spots are the diseases cause for drooping fig fruits. Soil nematodes and some other insects’ activity in the fruiting stage can drop the fruits.
Controlling Measures
Water the plant properly and take good care to revive the diseases. And apply insecticide with a proper dosage to control insects.
Don’t take any steps before make sure about the diseases. If you think the plant effect by any diseases, contact the near horticulture center.
5. Environmental Problem
Rapid changes in climate can drop the fig fruits. Fig plants love a warmer climate but they also can survive in cold.
Controlling Measures
Keep eye on the plants and take steps depending on the climate. Provide good protection to protect the plant from cold.
6. Others Causes
Root damage and wilting also can be the reason for dropping fruits. You must plant your potted fig trees into a large container with good potting soil. And avoid wilting apply a thin layer of organic mulch.
Conclusions
Gardeners grow figs to produce sweet, aromatic, and healthy fruits. That’s why they take good care of the plants. But all their hard work goes into vain if the fig fruits start dropping.
If you do some research, then you will know it is not a big problem for figs. But it so common for figs. To fix this problem I have tried to cover every possible reason for it with the best solutions. I hope this article can help to fix your fig fruits dropping problem.