Chapter 4.

The cause of unfruitfulness

 Internal causes of unfruitfulness

 External factors of unfruitfulness
• Unfruitfulness is a major problem in many
fruit crops and their varieties result in huge
loss to growers and make fruit cultivation less
profitable.
• Unfruitfulness in fruit crops refers to the state
where the plant is not capable of flowering and
bearing fruit.
4.1. Internal Causes:

1) Low proportion of female or perfect flowers as in

some varieties of mango often is the cause for a poor
fruiting. There appears to be no remedy for this defect.
2) Structural features like heterostyly and habits like
dicho-gamy sometimes restrict the availability of pollen
and pollination. The presence of sufficient population of
pollinators ordinarily ensures good pollination and set.
3) Inadequate quantities of pollen appear to reduce fruit
set in some varieties of strawberry and some varieties of
grape. Use of suitable growth regulators to get fruit
setting will circumvent the difficulty.
4) Many varieties of Japanese plums and apples are self
sterile. Many other fruits also partially self sterile. So
planting varieties which make them fertile with their pollen
will solve the problem.
5) When inter sterility is the cause for low fruit set
compatible pollenizers have to be provided. Mixed pollen
sprays and use of synthetic growth regulators may also be
helpful.
6) Distant cross are often reasons for low fruit set.
Chemical aids can get over the problem.
7) Defects of ovule development, embryo abortions etc. are
observed in dropped flowers. These largely seem to be
varietal characteristics and cannot largely be altered.
 4.2. External factors of unfruitfulnes
4.2.1. Environmental causes:
1) Some varieties of a fruit crop don‘t flower in a locality
owing to undetermined environmental factors e.g. several
varieties of mango have not flowered in some area. This
can be remedied by top working with flowering varieties.
2) Unfavorable temperature may cause failure of any
flowering as in the case of apples is due to lack of
sufficient winter chilling. It has been remedied to certain
extent by oil emulsion sprays and DNOC (Di-nitro-ortho
cresol).
3) In tropics, plants flowering in summer may
experience retarded pollen germination due to high
temperatures and low humidity. The provision of wind
breaks, close planting and cover cropping help in
improving the situation.
4) Reduced illumination due to close planting,
overcrowding of branches or shade will often reduced
flowering. Thinning out some trees to increase spacing,
pruning trees to reduce overcrowding and removal of
shade can meet the situation.
5) When long day plants of northern latitudes don‘t
flower owing to the absence of the critical length of day,
they can be made to flower by providing artificial light.
On an orchard scale such treatments are not practicable.

6) Late rains may prolong the vegetative growth and

delay or reduce flowering in mango. It can be remedied
by drying out the soil and probably by artificial
inhibition of growth by growth regulators.
7) Heavy rains may restrict pollinator activity, wash
away pollen and prevent pollen germination.
Choice of varieties which don‘t flower at such periods
of the year is the best way out.

In crops like grapes, the pruning time may be altered to

avoid the onset of flowering during the period of the
rainy season crop may altogether be avoided by hard
pruning.
 
4.2.2. Nutritional Causes:
1) Heavy nitrogenous manuring at the time of flower
bud initiation often reduces flowering by promoting
vegetative differentiation. The practice should be given
up. Root pruning and restricted irrigation may be
helpful in reducing vegetative vigor and inducing
formation of male flowers.
2) Over bearing in the previous season exhausts the tree
and reduces subsequent flowering as in mango and most
biennial bearing trees. A complete manure mixture
applied at the growth flush following the harvest will be
helpful (June manuring in mango).
3) Lack of nutrition as in weak shoots causes fall of
flowers before and after fruit set.
A spray of urea after fruit set will help the development
of fruits.

4) Lack of sufficient reserves of carbohydrates in shoots

may cause sparse flowering and poor set (shoot bunches
of grapes).
Ringing and girdling may help. But it should not be
continued as a regular orchard practice.
5) Adverse growth features like water suckers will result
in a drain on the tree and reduce flowering not only on
themselves but also on other branches of the tree. Such
shoots arise when big branches are pruned. Then it is
necessary to cut big limbs, they should always be set to
a strong lateral but not stimulate a dormant bud.
 Late irrigation following a long drought may cause
the production of water shoots.
 The first irrigation after a drought should always be
sparing; later ones being more liberal .
 When water suckers are formed due whatever reason,
they should be promptly removed.
6) Deficiencies of elements are sure cause of reduced
flowering as well as set. A composite mineral spray at flush
time will usually be very helpful. If deficiency is due to
alkalinity of the soil, suitable reclamation measures should
be adopted.
7) Heavy manuring and severe pruning during the pre-
bearing period will prolong it. Pruning should be done while
branches are young, preferably by rubbing of auxiliary buds
themselves by frequent observation of the plants. Seedlings
and some species of plants have a long pre-bearing period
during which no undue anxiety should be felt for hastening
flowering. Such trees may be given one chance to bear by
(1) manuring them heavily with a complete mixture of
nutrients (2) pruning hard up to 3-4 year old wood and (3)
spraying a composite mineral mixture on young flush.
4.2.3. Bio-logical causes:
1) Absence of pollinating agents can be a reason for low fruit
set in several fruits. Rearing bee colonies in orchards, besides
being a subsidiary source of income greatly helps fruit set.
2) When specific insects ‘symbiotic adaptations concerned
with the pollination, they must be reared. A wooden needle
seems to perform the duties of the blastophaga quite as
efficiently in promoting set of fig fruit.
3) Pests like the mango hopper which directly attacks the
flowers obviously reduce the fruit set. Others which feed on
leaves reduce the photosynthetic surface impair production of
carbohydrates and thus reduce flowering. Several fungal
diseases do the same thing; Suitable remedial measures should
be taken to protect the tress.
 
4.2.4. Cultural causes:
1) The commonest cause of poor flowering in house
gardens is excessive irrigation which restricts aeration
of roots and causes sickly symptoms. Increase of
intervals of irrigation and provision of drainage are the
remedies.
2) Weeds and intercrops may compete with the main
crop for nutrition and water in low rainfall
areas .Removal of weeds and adequate manuring to
meet the demands of both the fruit crop as well as the
intercrops are helpful. Intercrops which clash with the
irrigational and manurial requirements of fruit crops
both in respect of quality and time of application should
be avoided.
3) Ploughing or deep cultivation at flowering time will
result in drop of flowers and should be avoided.

4) Severe pruning of large limbs which encourages

production of water shoots should be avoided. If it is
absolutely essential, the branches may be cut to a strong
lateral. Wrong pruning techniques may also cause
reduction of flowering.
The following points should be borne in mind
(1) the pruning should be with regard to bearing habit of
the fruit tree,
(2) the pruning should be up to some fruitful buds (in
grapes), Harder or light pruning will reduce fruiting,
(3) a balance of vegetative and fruiting wood should be
maintained in plants bearing on past seasons wood, (4)
pruning should not be delayed till the new growth is
resumed.

In practice good drainage, timely irrigation, manuring

and culture and selection of suitable varieties will ensure
good set of crops.
The End