What to do and how to avoid grape peas, causes of the problem and prevention

Many people grow grapes in their dachas or garden plots. With proper care and if the variety is selected in accordance with climatic conditions, the plant produces a bountiful harvest. However, it happens that after flowering, the fruit ovaries develop poorly and remain tiny in size. What to do with the problem of peas in grapes, and for what reasons this happens.

What is grape peas

Peaing is the ripening of berries of different sizes on one bunch of grapes. Taste qualities most often remain unchanged, but, unlike the normal size of grapes, small fruits look inferior. Compared to the usual size of the berries, the small ones resemble peas. This is where the name of the problem comes from.

There are two options for peas. When the bunch is filled with large berries, and small ones are visible between them. Or, conversely, only a couple or three grapes of normal size ripen on the bunch. Due to their appearance, the berries are difficult to sell and lack seeds.

Common Causes

Why do peas occur in grapes? Gardeners unanimously say that this process is influenced by more than one factor. Experienced winegrowers identify the following main reasons:

1. Pollination deficiency.
2. Heavy load on the vine.
3. Lack of moisture and fertilizing.
4. Features of the variety and unsuitable climatic conditions.

Lack of pollination

The most common reason for the formation of small grape fruits. Bisexual varieties, in which long and straight pistils and stamens are present, are self-pollinating. Female flowers, which have short and curled parts for reproduction, require pollinating insects.

The harvest is exposed to peas due to the following factors:

1. Bees are not attracted to shrubs.
2. High temperatures and drought dry out the pollen, which is easily blown away by the wind.
3. A large number of female inflorescences that require pollinators.
4. The shrub is planted in a place where various objects (fence, wall, trees) interfere with the process of pollination by wind.
5. Pollen is washed away in the rain.

If the plant is not pollinated enough, most of its inflorescences fall off. For this reason, in almost all cases, grapes pea.

Unformed vine and overload of vegetation

In the case when the plant has formed a large number of shoots, a lot of foliage and fruit ovaries are formed. This amount of vegetation overloads the vine, resulting in crop failure.

For young bushes, this phenomenon is considered normal, since the grapes, as they grow, accumulate fruiting power.

As for an adult shrub, the exchange of water and nutrients inside the plant is disrupted. Therefore, flowers and ovaries do not receive proper nutrition.

Lack of watering and fertilizers

Among the factors that cause peas in grapes are a lack of water and mineral fertilizers. This leads to disruption of the development of shrubs and crop formation. In addition, fertilizing is not recommended during cold periods, since grapes, due to low temperatures, do not accept fertilizers well.

The plant feels comfortable and develops well in moist soil. To prevent the soil from drying out, you must:

1. Systematically water the bushes.
2. Monitor the condition of the soil.
3. Loosen the soil around the crop.

If the summer is hot and dry, the shrubs require abundant watering - 8-10 times per summer will be enough.

Varietal feature

Vineyard specialists recommend studying the variety before cultivating any variety of this crop. The description often indicates the tendency of the variety to such a nuisance as peas. Of course, careful care of the shrub will increase the yield, but you shouldn’t count on it too much.

In recent years, breeders have developed many unpretentious hybrid varieties. For example, Arcadia and Augustine produce an inferior harvest only if the plant is not cared for.

Do not forget that representatives of the crop bear fruit well when planted in well-ventilated areas with plenty of sunlight.

Unsuitable weather conditions

Weather conditions can be a serious reason for the lack of a rich and healthy harvest. The plant will not be able to fully carry out the pollination process. Favorable conditions are considered to be low air humidity, dry and hot weather, up to a maximum of 30 degrees Celsius.

If it rains during the flowering period, the pollen will be washed away, and the result will be tiny berries. Opposite climatic conditions (high air temperature and lack of precipitation) will also harm the grapes. In this case, the pollen on the inflorescences dries up and cannot attach to another flower for pollination.

Signs of bunch peas

The obvious signs of pea berries are:

1. Excessive shedding of flowers and ovaries.
2. Lack of pollinating insects (if required).
3. Half of the berries in the bunch, at a certain point, stop developing and become larger.

If you carefully monitor the condition of the bushes and predict the problem already at the first stage, it is possible to correct everything. You just need to take appropriate measures.

Fighting methods

In order not to get a harvest of small berries, you need to know ways to avoid this trouble. In case of unsuccessful fruiting, the formation of fruits the size of peas, it is necessary to prepare the bushes for the next fertile year, that is, to carry out a kind of treatment.

Improving pollination quality

The ability of the plant to fully pollinate the inflorescences depends on the correctly chosen place for planting grapes. There are several ways to attract pollinating insects and improve the quality of insemination:

1. Plant plants in your garden that attract bees.
2. Buy varieties of grapes of different sexes.
3. Make sure there is good air circulation near the bushes.
4. Make a special device for pollination. To do this, rabbit fur is attached to a wooden block. With the help of animal fluff, pollen is safely transferred to the female inflorescences.
5. Spray the bush with sweet bee bait.
6. Carry out hand pollination.

Choosing the right variety

Experienced winegrowers have identified several varieties that are more prone to pea production. These include: Talisman, Laura and Kesha. Among the bisexual varieties, the following are susceptible to the problem of small berries: Timur, Summer Muscat, Kodryanka, Strashinsky and Muscat Rusbol.

But do not forget that if you take all the necessary measures in time, trouble can be avoided.

Proper care

To ensure proper care for the shrubs, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture; if necessary, the amount of watering needs to be increased, especially in the heat. For better penetration of moisture and fertilizers, the soil around the bush needs to be loosened, this will also help in the fight against peas.

Carry out periodic feeding with potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, boron, nitrogen and zinc. It is recommended to select high-quality products containing these elements. In addition to peas, the plant signals a lack of essential microelements by spots on the leaves and branches, this also needs to be paid attention to.

Pruning and shaping vines to improve berry quality

To combat an excess of vegetation on the grapevine, which leads to inadequately ripened fruits, it is necessary to do the following:

1. If there is sufficient pollination, trim off excess ovaries on the bushes.
2. Make sure there are no dry, weakened or damaged branches. These branches need to be deleted. In addition, the crown should not be allowed to thicken.
3. Get rid of all bunches of grapes that show signs of peas at the initial stage.
4. A few days before the start of the flowering period, pinch out young shoots.

Pea-splitting of grapes is a common problem, but timely measures taken and careful care of the vineyard can avoid problems with the harvest.