Why peach pits split

Perhaps in the future these genes may be regulated to develop cultivars less prone to split pits. In the meantime, the selection of mid to late season ripening cultivars may be the best solution to avoiding fruit loss associated with split pits.

All rights reserved. DMCA and other copyright information. The exact causes of pit breakage are unknown. Fruit of most early peach cultivars enters the final swell of growth before the pit is completely hardened.

As the fruit enlarges rapidly, stress exerted by the expanding flesh causes much of the pit fracturing. Because most early varieties are cling types, the strong attachment of flesh to pit probably enhances the forces exerted on the immature pit by the expanding flesh. The peach pit is a result of the mixed genetics of the parent tree and what it was pollenated with.

Fruit trees are instead typically propagated by grafting. Unfortunately a split pit peach often looks perfectly fine from the outside. The peach is still tasty, just really ugly. Both are split pit peaches, but the one on the right has split all the way to the open air. Cutting open a peach that has split all the way to the open air will typically reveal mold on the inside.

They still taste great! Related Peach Posts. Rockpiles instead of peaches. First Peach Blossom. As the fruit enlarges rapidly, stress exerted by the expanding flesh causes or enhances much of the pit fracturing. Because most early varieties are cling types, the strong attachment of flesh to pit probably enhances the forces exerted on the immature pit by the expanding flesh.

Cultural practices that enhance fruit size such as thinning, nitrogen application, girdling, and irrigation usually increase the level of split pit. If freezes excessively reduce fruit loads, generally pit breakage increases.