Why does the apple tree not bear fruit and what to do?

Each person, just deciding to plant an apple orchard, or having already planted it, is simply confident that he will receive a large, tasty and healthy harvest. But our hopes or confidence do not always correspond to reality. In fact, the harvest can be very small, and it also happens that there is no harvest at all. Why does the apple tree not bear fruit and what to do? Let's figure it out in this article

Why the apple tree stopped bearing fruit

If your apple tree does not bear fruit, then there can be a lot of reasons. And they need to be correctly identified and, if possible, corrected. After the cause is eliminated, it will not take long to wait for a good harvest.

In principle, if there is no harvest at all, then there are actually not so many reasons for this. All experienced gardeners know this, and very often they help novice gardeners by giving the right advice. The most basic question that arises is "what to do if the apple tree does not bear fruit at all?"

The reason for this can be understood from the external features of the tree. The complete absence of apples on the tree in due time may be due to the fact that you do not properly care, as well as its role, and the weather conditions play a very important role. Or, among beginners, it is very common that they simply made a mistake in the calculations and dates. This often happens during landing. It is during planting that special attention should be paid, because any deviation from the norm can harm the plant.

The land must meet the required standards for growing an apple tree.

Groundwater should run as deep as possible.

When planting a seedling, it is not necessary to deepen the root collar, this also affects the yield.

The trunk of the seedling must be absolutely flat, without excessive inclination and curvature.

The planting site of the seedling should be sufficiently elevated, completely free of drafts and winds.

If something of the above is not done correctly, then the apple tree will begin to give the first fruits much later than the due date, and the fruiting period can take up to three years.

The main thing is that if the apple tree does not bear fruit and you were able to find out the cause of this phenomenon, then it must be urgently eliminated.

Initially, if you still cannot get fruits, you need to check well the calculations of when exactly you should get the first fruits from your tree. Before it begins to bear fruit, it must fully grow stronger, grow a lush crown and a sufficiently powerful root system. Each variety has its own age for fruiting. It usually takes about five years after planting. But it also happens that the variety can begin this process in the eighth year of life. And the exceptions are those varieties that begin to do this even in the twenty-fifth year.

It also very often depends on the stock. Moreover, its appearance can be completely different: Tall, Medium-tall, Semi-dwarf, Dwarf, Columnar.

The selected species also has a very strong effect on fruiting, although many gardeners initially do not pay attention to this.

Thus, it turns out that with a seed stock, the apple tree begins to bear fruit no earlier than the fifth year of life. But with a dwarf, it can start already on the third. It often happens that when you buy a seedling, it begins to bear fruit much later than the due date, and this happens because: the buyer can be deceived and in fact the seedling is younger than the declared age.

It is possible that the varieties are mixed, and you bought the wrong one.

But it also happens that the seedlings were not grafted or the so-called wild game was sold to you. If the seedling is not grafted, you will get a crop, but much later than the due date.Perhaps you were simply sold the wrong variety that you wanted and the timing of its fruiting is completely different.

Also, the harvest may be completely absent if there are too many trace elements in the ground. Indeed, when feeding the apple tree, it is important not to overdo it. The nitrogen must be added especially carefully. If there are too many elements in the soil, then the apple tree grows actively and develops well. Outwardly, it is healthy and fluffy, but does not bear fruit at all.

Very often, a tree refuses to bear fruit, this is the result of severe winter frosts or repeated spring frosts. After all, it is possible that the plant simply froze out in winter, or during repeated spring frosts, the buds simply froze. In this case, there is no need to wait for the harvest in the current season, it will definitely not be there.

Most often this happens with those varieties that are not winter hardy. If this problem overtook you, then you will notice it immediately from the state of your tree.

It is possible that the tree was poorly pollinated during flowering. Although most apple trees are self-pollinated, insects are still essential. But it happens that bees, bumblebees and other pollinators are simply not enough. That is why several trees need to be planted nearby, their varieties can be completely different, but a prerequisite is that they must bloom at the same time.

Also, apple trees may not bear fruit this year if the harvest was too large last season. It is very easy to understand this reason for refusing to bear fruit; for this it is enough just to remember how much harvest you received in previous years and just compare it. In this case, you can understand in advance that there is no point in waiting for the next harvest season. If your apple tree is older than five years, then after a huge amount of harvest, it may not have time to fully recover in one season, and it will need more time.

After all, the younger the plant, the faster all processes go through it. But if a tree is of middle age, then it can rest after exuberant fruiting for up to five years.

Also, very often fruiting depends on the variety. Some of them do not bear fruit by themselves every year, but with a break. And self-pollination in such varieties is very poor, so the yield is often very low.

There are also varieties that bear fruit regularly at a young age, and at a more mature age it already begins to take breaks between fruiting. And over the years, sometimes the harvest becomes much smaller both in quantity and in size.

As for the ranetki, they begin to bear fruit only eight years after planting. And as a rule, they very often suffer from winter frosts. But when the winters are warm enough, there is no break in fruiting. but if your variety is creeping, then it definitely needs to be covered for the winter. But there is another problem that often arises in such plants, they start to cheer.

Also, several branches cannot be tied together, this also affects the yield.

If your plant is dwarf, then you need to carry out competent pruning on time. Indeed, with too much foliage, the fruit will also be less.

Before planting an apple tree, be sure to keep in mind that the columnar plant should be taken care of more thoroughly. And insulation for the winter is simply a must. If you do the wrong pruning, it also has a huge impact on yield. If you carried out a strong pruning, damaged branches or, on the contrary, left damaged ones, then in a greater probability there will be no harvest this year at all, and at best it will be very small. This happens very often if the entire tree is pruned at the same time. Although removing a lot of branches is actually very stressful for the plant. And instead of putting all its energy into the formation of buds and the growth of young leaves, the plant has to grow new branches.It also very often happens that gardeners mistake important parts of the apple tree for shoots that they do not need at all and simply remove them. Accordingly, this also affects the yield. After all, these branches are responsible precisely for the yield, and the more of these branches, the more chances that the apple tree will bear fruit every year.

Later fruiting very often it happens with those branches that grow almost vertically, and the plant also produces very poor fruits with a too dense and lush crown. And this happens because the plant in this case simply does not have enough sunlight, and it is very poorly ventilated.

How to fix the situation

In principle, fixing the situation is not as difficult as it seems. The main thing is to understand what is the reason: if the whole thing is in the wrong planting, then you need to divert the groundwater, and for this you need to plant such plants next to the apple tree, which have a very strong and powerful root system. If the composition of the soil is not suitable for your plant, then this must be gradually corrected by introducing the necessary elements into the ground. If the trunk of your plant is twisted, you just need to tie it to a strong support. And if your plant is very deeply planted, then it just needs to be transplanted. Despite the fact that many do this on purpose and only with the best of intentions, in order to make it easier to graft a plant, which subsequently can easily grow its own root system. In this case, the apple tree will begin to bear fruit much later than the due date, but it will be healthier. But in this case, you can easily lose the personality of the variety.

Traditional methods

To correct the fruiting situation, the apple tree must be transplanted, and the place for this must be carefully selected. When planting a plant, you must initially take into account that the plant should not feel a draft or wind at all.

If the refusal of fruiting is all about pollination, then next to your tree you need to plant such a variety of apple trees so that they bloom at the same time. If for some reason planting another plant is not possible, then it is enough to graft a branch of another variety to your plant, which should be a pollinator. You can also insert twigs with pollinator flowers on the crown of your plant during flowering, the main thing is that they are always moist. Another great option is to attract the necessary insects, one of the good ways for this is to plant such plants around the apple tree that can attract bees and the like.

It is also necessary to fertilize plants correctly, strictly observing all the necessary dosages. You need to be especially careful with nitrogen. Basically, there is a very large amount of nitrogen in organic fertilizers, so you need to be very careful with them. After you add manure or humus, you do not need to add nitrogen additionally, this will only harm your plant.

The apple tree very often suffers from harmful insects, so it is necessary to carry out not only prevention, but also full processing. This should be started in early spring, until the buds have blossomed, and re-treatment should be carried out ten days after flowering. Often, for this, those preparations are used that contain copper and sulfur, these are: Bordeaux mixture, Hom, Cuprostat, Colloidal sulfur, Cupricol. It is also possible to carry out treatment with systemic drugs, such as: Aktara, Aktellik, Topaz, Raek, Inta-Vir, Skor and the like.

Pruning also needs to be done correctly. After all, this is what can stimulate the apple tree for annual fruiting.

Absolutely all varieties of apple trees need a lot of sunlight, and ventilation. Thickening hurts absolutely everyone, without exception. For this, after planting, you need to correctly form the crown of the plant. It is very important that light can reach each leaf and can be ventilated freely.In order for the crop to be regular starting from the fifth year of the plant's life, the top of the plant must be cut off every season. The best option is for the tree not to grow higher than four meters. But keep in mind that all branches cannot be cut at the same time; this must be done gradually. Otherwise, the tree will devote almost all its strength to growing foliage, and the harvest at this time will be very scarce. If your apple tree needs to be drastically pruned, then it is best to do this gradually for several years in a row. Those branches that grow almost straight, looking upward, are also best removed, there is no sense in them, they only take away the strength from the plant. If you want to get a harvest from a young plant, then ringing is best. To do this, at the points of growth in a circle, you need to remove about one cm of bark and cover this place with garden pitch and wrap it with foil. Thanks to this, the tree will be able to form more buds, respectively, and it will bloom more actively. Also, if you are worried that you will harm the plant, then you can put a metal belt on it, which can be removed at any time.

There is also such a technique as rationing. Thanks to him, almost any variety can be made to bear fruit every year, almost any apple variety. By itself, this method is very simple, you need to remove excess buds from each branch. There should be no more than ten of them on one branch. In this case, the harvest will not be so huge, but regular. And here every gardener will have to face a choice. What exactly do you want, regularity, or a rare but large harvest.

Unconventional methods

There are also so-called non-traditional methods. Sometimes they sound very funny and there is no reliable evidence that they are effective, but still they exist and some gardeners actively use them. There is a way to plant an apple tree according to the lunar rhythms. In this case, the plant must be planted exactly three days before the new moon. This method works and it is not clear what the reason is, but at a certain moment of growth, the apple tree simply stops growing and begins to actively bear fruit much earlier than it should be.

Some gardeners advise you to simply "scare" the plant. It sounds pretty funny though. But to do this, you need to take an ax, go to your tree and start threatening him with just chopping it down. Moreover, you need to speak convincingly, as if at this very moment you are going to destroy him and sharply decided to give him one last chance. It is best to swing the ax for persuasiveness. This method is generally considered absurd, but some gardeners, mainly those who already at an age say that it works.

Conclusion

In principle, if your apple tree has stopped bearing fruit, then this can be corrected. The main thing is to identify the cause. After you understand why this happened and correct the situation, everything will be restored. If you want to grow a full-fledged apple orchard and get a regular, good harvest, you just need to study everything in advance so that there are as few incomprehensible and not very pleasant situations as possible.