Why Peaches Fall Off the Tree Early

Peaches and Cold

• Peach trees, like many other fruits in the rose family, are temperate climate plants that must endure an amply cold winter during dormancy. If the winter is too warm, flowering doesn't occur or is greatly diminished. Insect pollinators may visit the few blossoms on the peach tree, but the vitality of the blossoms and their ovaries that become fruits may be poor and result in fruit drop later in spring. Alternatively, a late frost or freeze in spring after flowering can also destroy young fruits or their stems, leading to fruit drop.

June Drop

• Peach trees naturally are heavy crop bearers. Even if only 8 percent of all the blossoms are pollinated, a peach tree will be densely covered in fruits in summer. Too many fruits on a tree depletes resources, or they simply cannot all be supported by the roots and leaves to develop further. Therefore, peach trees will naturally drop off excessive amounts of young fruits if too many remain on branches. This phenomenon is referred to as "June drop," but often occurs in April or May in the Southern half of the United States where most peach orchards exist.

Summer Stresses

• Once all the leaves unfurl on the peach tree and the tiny peaches dangle on the branches, the tree must experience evenly moist soil. Dry soils cause leaves to wilt in the afternoon, which is a precursor to the tree's defense mechanism of aborting fruits and leaves. At any point in the developmental stage of the fruits, drought conditions will cause widespread dropping of peaches in an attempt to conserve water. By contrast, flooded soils also cause stress to peach trees as it limits gas exchange in roots and can also lead to premature drop of fruits and leaves.

Recommendations

• Peach growers need to expect peaches to naturally drop off their trees. However, proactively and properly thinning out fruits in midspring can reduce the alarming number of peaches aborted. Thinning out reduces the weight load on branches and allows the grower to select which peaches and what spacing to further develop on the tree. Remove excessive peaches on branches when the tiny peaches are about dime-sized. Thin them out so only one peach remains every four to six inches on each limb. Irrigate the peach tree during drought, but still expect some fruits to drop from the adverse conditions. In mild winter regions, such as Southern California and along the Gulf Coast, only select peach tree varieties that are "low-chill," which need markedly less winter cold to bloom and set fruits well.