Flower abortion in passion fruit:
Are you having flower abortion problems in your passion farm?
Well…
Flower Abortion in Passion fruits happens to be a common problem among passion farmers.
You will find hundreds of Passion farmers in Eldoret, Kisii, Nyeri, Bungoma, and all over Kenya cite flower abortion their biggest concern.
In their Deepest thoughts, the farmers ask questions like:
- “What Causes flowers to abort?”
- “Will flower Abortion affect my passion yields per acre?”
- “Which is the best chemical to apply to prevent flower abortion in passion fruit?”
- “With so many reasons that cause flowers abortion and so many solutions available, what do I do so that I solve the problem once and for all?”
So if you find that you ask yourself these questions you are not alone.
and it’s not your fault.
Flower abortion in passion fruit is a SIGNAL that all is not right in your farm.
It is a sign that you must do something—otherwise you risk losing part or all of your passion fruit harvest.
That’s why I am here for you.
I want to share with you tips and strategies that assure you that the passion flower abortion problem will go away forever.
Before I share those tips…
Let’s start by knowing what causes flower to abort.
By having that knowledge, on what causes flower drop in passion, you can develop a checklist that will enable you avoid them.
Ready?
Continue reading.
Top 6 Causes of Flower Abortion in Passion Fruits.
- Plant Disease.
Fungal diseases like Fusarium wilt, Phytopthora blight, Septoria spot can cause flower drop in passion fruit.
These diseases cause flower abortion by stopping, or restricting the movement of nutrients and water through the passion plant.
When the passion plant can no longer receive water and nutrition, the net result is flower abortion.
- Pest attack.
The most dangerous pests to a passion farmer are thrips.
They are responsible for 90% of all flower drop cases in passion fruit.
What makes them so dangerous is their minute size coupled with their feeding habits.
Their size makes them so difficult to notice, leading to delays in controlling them.
As hide inside the flowers, they puncture and injure the flower parts like the stigma, and anthers.
If the flowers are extensively injured, they can’t pollinate thus can’t form fruit.
Consequently, the passion plants will drop the injured flowers.
Thrips are not the only pest that cause flower drop.
Aphids, broad mites and yellow-black spotted beetle can also cause flower abortion after blooming.
- Nutrient deficiency.
During flowering, nutrients like Potassium, Boron and Zinc are ABSOLUTELY essential.
These minerals are required in large amounts in flower budding, fruit formation and final fruit sweetness.
When these nutrients are in short supply or lacking, the plant will have no otherwise but to drop the flowers.
- Water stress,
Like nutrients, water is absolutely essential.
Without it, the passion plants will abort flowers so as to maintain few fruits to maturity.
- Unfavourable weather
Too much rain, sun, or frosty nights, will lead to flower abortion in passion fruit.
- Lack of Pollination
When pollination does not take place, flower drop will take place.
How to Avoid Flower Abortion in Passion Fruit
The best way to eliminate flower drop in Passion fruit is to remove the causes of flower abortion.
By removing the conditions that favour flower abortion, your passion fruit will never drop flowers!
Adopt these strategies and flower abortion will be a thing of the past
Strategy #1. Scout for Pests and diseases regularly.
We previously found out that pests especially thrips and diseases, are responsible for flower abortion in passion fruit.
So by scouting for them, you’ll be able to catch them before they escalate their damage.
Some pests like thrips are minute and may be very difficult to identify with the naked eye.
Buy a magnifying glass.
With it, you can see the small damaging insects clearly.
When you identify the pests, take remedial actions immediately.
Spray the right pesticide to destroy the pest.
When it comes to diseases, you can apply preventive fungal sprays.
Use fungicides like copper oxychloride, and others that prevent the development of funguses.
Strategy #2: Use Traps, and Pheromones to Trap Harmful Insects
Use of pesticides, is becoming a debatable issue as they cause harm to the environment and people.
To minimise the use of pesticides, alternative pest control measures are necessary.
That’s where the use of traps, pheromones, and natural pest enemies come in.
Adopt these strategies alongside the use of pesticides and insecticides.
Strategy #3: Provide the Right Soil Nutrition at Every Stage of Plant Growth
Different growth stages of passion plants need various minerals and nutrients.
To ensure that the plants get them at every stage of growth, start your passion farm at the right foundation.
During transplanting, fill the transplanting hole with lots of manure and organic matter.
As the plant grows, provide a balanced nutrition by using compound fertilizers like NPK.
When the plants approach flowering, and fruiting, spray them with foliar fertilisers containing potassium, boron, zinc, copper, every week so that the plants get all the nutrients they require.
Strategy #4: Water The Passion Plants Regularly
Without water in sufficient amounts, your passion plants will not only drop flowers but also wilt and eventually dry.
Just by giving the right amounts of water, your chances of obtaining high yields on passion increase dramatically.
Strategy #5: Grow Passion Fruit in the Right Environment
The right environment for passion fruit growth has the right temperature, rainfall amounts, sunshine, and soil.
When the passion plant is in its natural environment, there will be little or no cases of flower drop.
Follow these five strategies and flower abortion in passion fruit will be a thing of the past!
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