Bay of Plenty
December
Q.
Hi, our passionfruit is shriveling and dropping despite regular water and applying sheep pellets. The skins have round brown spots before they start to shrivel but the stem looks healthy.
Laurel Amon
A.
Hi Laurel
This is a fungal disease called brown spot, which is prevalent in warm humid weather. Pick up any fallen fruit and dispose of in the rubbish rather than the compost to prevent the disease spreading.
Avoid overhead watering and wetting the leaves and water around the base of the vine. Lightly prune some of the vine to improve airflow around the plant. Maintain regular watering, especially in dry periods. Regularly feed the vine, Tui NovaTec Premium or Tui Citrus Food are suitable balanced fertilisers for passionfruit. Feed once a month during the growing season (spring and summer).
Thanks, Tui Team.
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Why is my passionfruit shriveling and dropping? Comments
Hi, my passionfruit vine was looking very healthy and luxuriant with heaps of passionfruit and just 2 weeks after a thick 15cm layer of new bark mulch was placed over the passionfruit trunks and roots. The leaves started turning yellow and falling off and lots of the fruit has shriveled - might the heavy bark layering have caused this? I have removed the bark 30cm away from vine trunks, placed fresh Tui vegetable mix around and sprayed with seaweed tonic - will this save my vine or what else can I do please?
Joanne
Hi Joanne, mulching is great to help conserve soil moisture and keep weeds down and should be applied to damp soil after rain or the garden has been watered. It is also important that bark (or sawdust) mulch is composted for a period of time before applying to the soil, as the bark will draw nitrogen from the soil, this may be why the leaves have turned yellow, due to lack of nitrogen in the soil. Usually a 5cm layer of mulch is enough to keep moisture in and prevent weeds growing. Plants will drop their leaves when they are stressed, usually due to lack of water. Passionfruit need plenty of water in the growing season, make sure it is well watered, the vine could need watering every day in summer, take care not to overwater. Apply a balanced fertiliser every 8 weeks, use Tui Citrus food or General Garden Fertiliser. Vegetable mix is good to add to the soil as it contains sheep pellets as well as blood and bone, both rich sources of nitrogen. Continue using the seaweed plant tonic every 7 days at a rate of 70-100mls per 9L watering can to help boost the plant.
Lianne