Why strawberry bushes bloom, but do not bear fruit and treatment methods
Strawberries, as a relatively unpretentious and high-yielding crop, are grown almost everywhere. There are many varieties of it, most of which are resistant to adverse environmental factors. But there are situations when it is not clear why strawberries bloom profusely, but do not bear fruit. To deal with this problem, you need to familiarize yourself with the main reasons for such negative consequences and methods for eliminating them.
Possible reasons why strawberries may not bear fruit
In order to achieve the desired results when cultivating strawberries on the site, you need not only to adhere to the correct agricultural technology, but also to know what reasons can provoke the lack of fruits with sufficient flowering.
Late boarding
One of the frequent prerequisites for the appearance of such an ailment as the termination of fruiting is the late planting of seedlings. The optimal timing for determining plants for a permanent place is the second half of summer (last days of July-early August). When growing strawberries in mid-latitudes, planting is recommended to be done in early September.
Before the onset of cold weather, the seedlings will have enough time to adapt to new conditions and lay fruit buds for the next season.
If strawberry bushes are planted at a later date, you should not expect the appearance of berries in the summer. The plant will accumulate all its forces, and direct them to the development of the vegetative mass, and it will have neither the strength nor the time for the formation of buds. So it turns out that the harvest can be expected only next year. In such situations, gardeners are advised to pay more attention to plantings, increasing care. With the right approach, strawberries will bloom and give a rich harvest.
Incorrect planting depth
If mistakes were made during planting, then strawberries will not bloom either. The heart of the berry culture should not be allowed to be either too deep or very high. It is more correct if it is located at the same level with the ground. With a deep planting, the heart should be freed from the ground, and with a high one - sprinkled with soil.
Nitrogen overdose
Excessive content of such a chemical element as nitrogen in the soil leads to the absence of fruits on strawberries.An excess of fertilizer only provokes the growth of deciduous mass by the bush, as a result, it turns out that the garden strawberries are fattening. To remove excess nitrogen, it is necessary to water the berry plantation abundantly with clean water, and then add a phosphorus-potassium composition to the soil. Strawberries can recover only in a year.
Lack of nutrients
Lack of nutrients in the soil, especially nitrogen, potassium, manganese, boron and iron, in most cases, becomes a source of trouble in the form of poor fruiting of strawberries. It is recommended to apply fertilizer mixtures according to the following recommendations:
- At the beginning of March, nitrogen and peat are added to the soil, it is better if you use chicken or manure for these purposes. The way they are used is to be embedded in the soil. The introduction of nitrogen-containing fertilizer after the end of the flowering phase is a guarantee of an intensive growth rate, but you should not overdo it - the quality of fruiting will suffer.
- At the beginning and at the end of the season, it will be effective to feed strawberry bushes with wood ash.
- During the active growing season, it is recommended to fertilize strawberries with a mixture of ammonium molybdate, urea and boric acid.
Weed strawberries instead of garden
If the strawberries on the site are sufficiently fertilized, moisturized, have a healthy appearance, but do not bear fruit, then the reason should be sought in the presence of weed strawberries among the plantings. Such plants include Dubnyak and Podveska, which are distinguished by a rich green color of the leaf mass and the absence of fruits. If they form berries, then they are small in size and deformed. After finding such plants, it is necessary to remove them from the garden, otherwise the cultural plantings will suffer.
Weed varieties also include Zhmurka, which stands out for the low growth of bushes, and Bakhmutka, which is distinguished by its tall stature, abundant flowering and pink color of berries.
Hypothermia
If the winter is frosty and little snow, then the bushes will be without protection, and the open heart will simply freeze out. It is not worth rushing to extract such specimens from the soil - during the summer season they will be able to recover and bloom next year.
To avoid such negative consequences, it is recommended to cover the strawberry bushes with fallen leaves, agrofibre or spruce branches. Additional protection for garden strawberries will also be required in the event of recurrent spring frosts.
Determine frost damage to the heart by its darkening. Mistakes increase the likelihood of freezing strawberries when choosing a place for a berry plantation. It is not advisable to plant plants in the lowlands, where cold air accumulates.
Degeneration of remontant strawberries
If the strawberry is blooming and there are no large berries on it, the reason may lie at its age. The repaired culture is not able to bear fruit abundantly in the same place for 5 years. Such strawberry bushes are characterized by poor flowering and small fruits. It is recommended to renew the berry plantation by planting young plants.
Diseases
Diseases such as powdery mildew and leaf blight can provoke a lack of harvest on strawberry bushes. In order to prevent the development of such ailments, it is necessary to loosen the soil, remove dried leaf plates from the site as soon as the snow melts, process it with Bordeaux liquid 3% (in spring), before the flowering phase - 1% solution.
In addition, it is necessary to collect and destroy buds infected by weevil larvae. After harvesting, it is also effective to use Bordeaux mixture for processing strawberries.
Pests
Another reason for the absence of ovaries on strawberry bushes is the vital activity of such a small, but harmful, insect like a weevil. The buds do not have time to fade, as they already fall. The parasite lays its eggs in buds, which complicates the fight against it.It will be possible to fight the weevil with Fitoverm, Admiral or Iskra-Bio diluted according to the instructions.
Treatments should be done in the morning and a week before the start of the flowering phase.
Lack of sun
Since strawberries belong to heat-loving plants, you need to choose a place for planting in clearings that are well-lit and protected from through winds. If planted in the shade, then due to the slow development of plants, flowering is excluded. The solution is to transfer to a more suitable place.
When should strawberries bloom with proper care?
Varieties with an early ripening period begin to bloom from mid-May, and those with a late ripening period - from the end of May. The flowering phase lasts almost 3 weeks.
What if the reason is not clear?
If you can't find the reason for the absence of fruits on strawberry bushes, you need to take care of comfortable growing conditions for them. Regularly loosen the soil after each watering in order to prevent oxygen starvation of the roots, remove weeds from the site, which only picks up moisture and nutrients from the ground.
Timely apply fertilizers to the soil, carry out treatments against harmful insects and diseases. This approach will allow the plants to recover and start bearing fruit.
Prevention measures
In order to prevent a decline, or even a lack of harvest, the following preventive measures must be taken:
- Remove diseased plants from the plantation.
- Carry out processing at the strawberry flowering stage. At the stage of active vegetation, the bushes are mulched with organic matter or agrofibre is used for these purposes. Before the flowering phase, it is good to use special agents against harmful insects and fungal diseases. When the ovaries appear, phosphorus should be added to the soil, and after flowering - a complex composition.
- Spray the bushes with agrochemicals. Those plants that grow in one place for a long time suffer from fungal and viral diseases more often than others. Therefore, it is advisable to carry out the treatment with Bordeaux liquid with the addition of soap and fungicidal agents 4 times per season. Karbofos and Metaphos are highly effective against parasites.
For the successful cultivation of strawberries, it is necessary to choose only high-quality planting material and not ignore the basic rules of care. Only with this approach, strawberries will tie and delight their owners with an unsurpassed taste and aroma.
