North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Anton Callaway <marillen@earthlink.net>]

You might try giving the trees several applications of foliar calcium 
starting about a week after petal fall and then every couple of weeks 
thereafter till the fruit begins to color.  I've used calcium acetate and 
calcium gluconate on other fruit (haven't had a cracking problem on the plums 
yet), but calcium chloride as for preventing blossom end rot of tomatoes 
should work fine (if calcium is going to help at all).  It is also 
interesting that the small-fruited plums of Bruce haven't had any cracking 
problems, but the original post mentioning the cracking was about 
large-fruited cultivars.  Calcium distribution is particularly difficult in 
large fruits (the soil can be rich in calcium, but various other factors, 
including uneven watering can prevent sufficient uptake and movement of 
calcium to the heavy sinks, like developing fruits.

Anyway, it may be something else causing the cracking, but if you try the 
calcium, I'd be interested to find out if it helps you.

Regards,

Anton
Zone 8

-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Wittchen <herenorthere@lycos.com>
Sent: Jul 31, 2004 9:34 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] Plum cracking

If those plums were tomatoes, I'd say it happened because the trees ran dry 
and then got a good soaking.  But that happens to my plums and I've never 
seen a crack.  Maybe the little European plums I grow are less susceptible.  
By the way, was the original Green Gage a real gage (small fruit)?  The green 
plums sold in our groceries aren't gages.
Bruce Wittchen
1/2 mile outside Hartford, CT

> Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 13:29:54 -0400
> From: "Gene Spears" <Spears@LMC.edu>
> Subject: [NAFEX] Plum cracking

>    For the first time, I'm getting some plums off of a number of my trees - 
> Red Heart, Superior, and Kanga (sp?).  Most of the plums on all the trees 
> are cracked - split skin, some leaking.  Any cultural techniques that I can 
> use to reduce this problem?
> 
> As an aside, I have one seedling tree from a Green Gage fruit I bought in 
> the supermarket that is also fruiting for the first time.  No signs of 
> cracking on this one, so far.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> gene
> 
> spears@lmc.edu
-- 
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