Q: Here's my problem. I've had 3 apple trees in my yard for many years. They were already here when I bought the house so I don't know what type they are but they the last few years have dropped the fruit while it's still small. They never did that before. Is it because they are getting older?
A: Age is probably not an issue here as apples can
keep producing for many years even for half a century. Your apple trees
are what's called aborting their fruit. Dropping it before it's matured.
There are a few possible causes. If the trees haven't been fertilized
much (or at all) they could be suffering from a mineral deficiency. That
is common for fruit trees of all types and a telltale sign is aborted
fruit. Determining which of the many minerals they are short of is next
to impossible so the recommendation is to apply a fruit tree food that
contains some of each of the many of the minerals like zinc, manganese,
boron, copper, calcium and sulphur. Applying every year is good
practice at the very least. Another possible cause is insufficient
pollination. That is becoming more and more common as honeybee
populations dwindle. Fortunately you can purchase your very own orchard
bees to combat that problem. They are called Mason orchard bees and can
only be purchased in early spring each year from garden centres.