Fruitful Land

. Bitter Pit is a physiological disorder, it is not caused by a fungus or a bacteria, it is caused by a lack of calcium in the fruit. It usually appears as a storage defect, but it may also appear on the fruit during the harvest.

Bitter bit shows as small green to purplish to light brown (yes there really is this variability on the color) lesions on the surface of the mature fruit. These lesions are sunken and dry, but they do not extend deep into the fruit. Bitter pit can appear on the fruit at harvest time, but it usually develops during storage. The longer the time in storage, the more the disorder develops.

Bitter pit resembles Jonathon spot and Brooks fruit spot. A key to identifying bitter pit is that the leasions are sunken, variying in size and it increases in severity as storage time increases.

Overpruning is the most common cause for excessive vigor which leads to bitter pit susceptability. Balenced pruning and calcium sprays applied through the summer are the best preventative.  Bitter pit is more common on the larger fruits and it usually begins to show on the calyx end first.

Bitter pit can be controlled by choosing less susceptable varieties, controlling vigor by judicious pruning, and supplimental calcium sprays applied from fruit set to harvest. Several applications are more effective that any one application.