Q. I had a lot of bird
damage in my apricots this year.
damage in my apricots this year.
 |
| Stark Saturn donut peach and bird damage. The birds love this fruit. It develops very high sugar content in the desert. |
A. The bird damage should be easy to correct if you
harvest the fruit when it is still hard but has some color development. Keep an
eye on the fruit and look for early bird damage. If the fruit has begun to
change color, you can harvest when they are hard.
harvest the fruit when it is still hard but has some color development. Keep an
eye on the fruit and look for early bird damage. If the fruit has begun to
change color, you can harvest when they are hard.
Early producing apricots are less hard hit than the later ones.
Apricots develop the same sugar content as when it is
left on the tree. Remember that sugar content does not equal flavor. Flavor is
much more complex than just sugar content. It has a lot to do with the mixture
of different chemicals inside the fruit such as the organic acids, flavonoids,
etc.
left on the tree. Remember that sugar content does not equal flavor. Flavor is
much more complex than just sugar content. It has a lot to do with the mixture
of different chemicals inside the fruit such as the organic acids, flavonoids,
etc.
For most of my fruits I use tulle fabric over the tree or just organza bags over each grouping of fruit. This saves most of them from the birds.