Citrus tree issue

[Reyes Vargas]

I have 3 small citrus trees that have been flowering for the past 2 to 3 years.  Every year they set fruit but fall off just as they are starting to gain size.  This year has been no different.  

Here is one of the trees.  As you can see the tree itself looks healthy.

I'm this picture you can see one fruit that has not fallen and might grow to maturity. 

And in this picture you can see the oranges that have fallen. 

My question is what is causing this.  Is there anything that I can do to help.  I fertilize with this one in spring and once in fall.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I have 3 small citrus trees that have been flowering for the past 2 to 3 years.  Every year they set fruit but fall off just as they are starting to gain size.  This year has been no different.  

Here is one of the trees.  As you can see the tree itself looks healthy.

I'm this picture you can see one fruit that has not fallen and might grow to maturity. 

And in this picture you can see the oranges that have fallen. 

My question is what is causing this.  Is there anything that I can do to help.  I fertilize with this one in spring and once in fall.

Any help would be appreciated.

Would ditch that stuff and go organic..  Agree, trees look healthy, but i'd bet they're lacking adequate Potassium ( K ) which often results in low/ no fruit set. Had the same issue w/ Meyer Lemons my grandparents were growing, until i adjusted what they were being fed. ( no one was really giving them anything ) Following Fall, each tree produced 40lbs of Lemons.. on trees barely 6ft in height.  Also see some slight yellowing which to my eyes suggests they might appreciate a little dose of Iron, Maybe some Sul- Po- Mag. as well.

Ideally, you want the NPK ratio to be something in this range:  N = 10, max..( otherwise you'll get lots of green growth, but not much else )  P = 4-7, ( Too much Phosphorus is bad for the tree, and the soil biome that helps the tree produce )   K = 12/ 12+..  The other thing with " chemical " ferts. is the chemical taste that can show up in the fruit.  One reason i stopped using it, that and Chemical means the NPK components are typically derived of salts, which can build up in the soil, kill any good stuff in it ..esp. containerized stuff..  Not great if your native soil already has a high salt or calcium content either.

Despite what some of these companies promote, using spikes is more of a waste of time then a benefit.  Fert. content will not move out horizontally in the soil, only down.  A ring of something granular at/ just outside the drip line of each tree is the best way to get nutrients to the roots that will use it.

As far as Organic choices, many excellent options out there to research.

 

[Reyes Vargas]

17 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

As far as Organic choices, many excellent options out there to research.

Thank you I appreciate it.  I will stop using the spikes and look for an organic choice.

[Reyes Vargas]

Decided on Espoma's Organic Citrus-Tone.  It's available locally and fairly cheap.

[JLM]

I used palm fertilizer on my citrus last fall, yeah it flowered like crazy. Last Spring it barely flowered. Hopefully there isnt anything in the palm fertilizer that will ruin/change the taste of these tangerines. Not sure if thats how it works or not. Best of luck to you and your citrus tree @Reyes Vargas!

[Reyes Vargas]

9 hours ago, JLM said:

Best of luck to you and your citrus tree

I appreciate it.  I hope that new organic fertilizer does the trick.  I have not been able to taste one orange since I planted it.

[Laaz]

Go with regular 10/10/10 around the base of the trees. Organic breaks down way to fast. It is normal for citrus to drop many small fruit in the spring, it's called "June drop".

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, Laaz said:

Go with regular 10/10/10 around the base of the trees. Organic breaks down way to fast. It is normal for citrus to drop many small fruit in the spring, it's called "June drop".

10% Phosphorus is wayy too high for pretty much anything, especially considering there's plenty of it in the ground already, and it typically moves very slowly through most soil types.  ...I mean unless you're trying to sterilize your soil/ kill all the beneficial Mycos. in it or something..

[NorCalWill]

I've fertilized my citrus trees maybe 5 times in the last 8 years and they produce more citrus than I can handle (grapefruit, Meyer Lemon, and Naval Orange).

I'd experiment by taking a break from fertilizers for a while and see if it makes any difference.

[Reyes Vargas]

I don't know what's happening.  I used to have a meyer lemon and like you @NorCalWillso many produced so mlemons that I didn't know what to do with them.  Now I can't even keep a couple oranges on the tree.  I think I'm just going to try the organic one for a year and see what happens.  Thanks everyone for all the help and advice.

[Laaz]

7 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

10% Phosphorus is wayy too high for pretty much anything, especially considering there's plenty of it in the ground already, and it typically moves very slowly through most soil types.  ...I mean unless you're trying to sterilize your soil/ kill all the beneficial Mycos. in it or something..

I've been growing citrus for years & have 40+ trees in the ground. They have always been fertilized like this & produce way more fruit than I can ever use. The southeast is pretty much all clay soil & they thrive like this.

[amh]

6 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I don't know what's happening.  I used to have a meyer lemon and like you @NorCalWillso many produced so mlemons that I didn't know what to do with them.  Now I can't even keep a couple oranges on the tree.  I think I'm just going to try the organic one for a year and see what happens.  Thanks everyone for all the help and advice.

Low phosphorous and ammonium sulfate for alkaline soil or trees will develop iron chlorosis.  Chicken or rabbit manure works great, but you can also urinate on citrus for added nitrogen.

Add as much compost as physically possible around the trees.

Edited May 13, 2021 by amh

[Reyes Vargas]

30 minutes ago, amh said:

you can also urinate on citrus for added nitrogen.

I've got plenty of that.  I'm going to pee on my citrus trees from now on.

[amh]

1 hour ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I've got plenty of that.  I'm going to pee on my citrus trees from now on.

From the pictures it appears to be a nitrogen deficiency, but you may want to check the soil moisture. A frequent cycle of too wet to too dry will cause the fruit to drop.

[Laaz]

[Laaz]

My "sterile" citrus...  

[amh]

20 minutes ago, Laaz said:

That's called acidic loam not alkaline clay and sand.

[Xerarch]

It's perfectly normal for citrus to drop a lot of fruit this time of year, it's call the "June Drop" although in warmer climates it happens earlier.  It's actually a really nice thing, you don't need to go thin everything out like you do on peaches.  If you have that one hanging on, hopefully that's a sign that the tree is getting mature enough to be able to hold more next time, the tree still looks fairly small.

[Reyes Vargas]

Is there any advise on watering my trees?  Where I live it's very hot and very dry most of the year.  Our rainy time of the year is in September.  It has been dry since the first of the year until this past couple weeks where we have received 5 inches of rain.  I currently have a soaker hose going to my trees.  Any help would be appreciated.

[amh]

4 minutes ago, Reyes Vargas said:

Is there any advise on watering my trees?  Where I live it's very hot and very dry most of the year.  Our rainy time of the year is in September.  It has been dry since the first of the year until this past couple weeks where we have received 5 inches of rain.  I currently have a soaker hose going to my trees.  Any help would be appreciated.

Add a layer of mulch and flood the area when you water. You'll have to test the soil moisture, but flooding once or twice a week will probably work. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation are not effective in dry well draining soils.

[amh]

I forgot to mention adding sulfur to the area to help acidify the soil. You can usually purchase powdered(wettable) sulfur at local feed stores. The sulfur also provides chigger control, since the season is upon us.

[rprimbs]

I recommend the Keyplex brand of foliar fertilizer for citrus.  Citrus can become infected with 'Homlongbing'(I don't know if I spelled that right).  It is also called "Asian Greening".

Asian Greening messes up the flow of nutrients through the tree.  You can get around that problem with Keyplex foliar fertilizers.  

[Reyes Vargas]

On 5/15/2021 at 7:49 PM, rprimbs said:

I recommend the Keyplex brand of foliar fertilizer for citrus.  Citrus can become infected with 'Homlongbing'(I don't know if I spelled that right).  It is also called "Asian Greening".

Asian Greening messes up the flow of nutrients through the tree.  You can get around that problem with Keyplex foliar fertilizers.  

Thanks I'll try that.  We do have the Asian citrus psyllid which transmit citrus greening.  I do spray for the Phyllis with ortho 3-in-1 Insect, Mite and Disease Control every 10 days or after each rain.