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Garden Word of the Day
Are you fed up with greed?
Tell everyone how you feel.
#EnoughAlready
Tell everyone how you feel.
#EnoughAlready
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Have you ever seen two fruits growing together from the same stem? Twinning commonly occurs among stone fruits but is also seen in apples, pears, kiwifruit, coconuts, and zucchini. You may even see fruit quadrupling. But it is better to prevent fruit doubling. What does twinning look like? Conjoined fruits may share a little or a lot of one side. Those shared areas may be small, leaving the two fruits primarily separate. Or, they can share the entire length of the fruit. Either way, when these fruits are separated, they rot more quickly. What causes twinning? Twinning is the result of environmental stresses. The fertilization of a single ovary usually results in one fruit. Frost damage can injure fruit buds before we even see them. Later in the season, heat and water stress can interfere with carpel formation. Carpels are the female reproductive parts of a flower (ovary, stigma, and style). This damage can result in flowers with multiple carpels that grow into conjoined fruits. Irregular irrigation and insufficient chill hours can cause twinning, too. How can twinning be prevented?
Select fruit tree varieties suited to your USDA Hardiness Zone and microclimate. Pay special attention to the number of chill hours required to produce fruit. As always, install your trees at the proper depth since healthy trees can protect themselves in many cases. Regular spring and summer irrigation and winter protection will also help prevent twinning. Twinned fruit should be removed as part of your normal fruit thinning as these fruits are more prone to pest and disease problems. If you end up with mature twinned fruit, take a photo and eat it. Comments are closed.
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