News Article for June 9, 2008:
Figs are still a popular fruit grown mostly for personal use in our area. There is nothing better than fig preserves on a hot buttered biscuit.
Figs like most crops have their own little quirks that can cause you problems. I would guess that the most common problem I see is lack of water. Figs are a shallow rooted plant and they do not have the ability to go down deep to get moisture in dry periods. The first shower of rain just came through today that I have seen in over 3 weeks. That is not good for figs.
You should mulch the fig tree with 4 to 6 inches of an organic mulch like leaves, pine straw, etc., to help conserve moisture. During the fruiting stage you should keep up with rainfall and if you do not get at least an inch of rain a week you should irrigate. It is best to keep a fairly constant supply of moisture rather than letting the plants dry out severely before irrigating.
Inadequate moisture will cause a lot of fruit to abort and fall off. The variety Celeste is particularly sensitive to this condition and will have a lot of fruit drop in the absence of water.
Another problem I have a lot of calls about and have experienced myself is birds. As a boy growing up one of my jobs was to get inside the fig trees and scare the birds off when the figs started getting ripe. My grandfather had lots of fig trees and plenty to share but I guess they thought I needed something to do. Most of the people I meet now do not have that many trees and do not have enough to share with the blue jays, brown thrush and mocking birds. The best solution is to drape a net over the tree and that way the birds can only get a few figs on the surface. If you have children or grandchildren who need something to do, they can find out if a bird can fly with salt on its tail. This will definitely scare them off.
Diseases are another source of problems for those growing figs. There are 2 common diseases that affect figs. One is rust which will appear as small yellow to orange spots on the leaves. They enlarge and will grow together to help defoliate the tree late in the season. This usually does not cause a fruit failure, but can add to freeze damage due to late refoliation.
Thread blight is more trouble for the grower. It is a fungal disease that starts at the base of the fig leaf and spreads out like a fan. The leaves will die and cling to the twigs. If this occurs before the fruit ripens the figs will become hard and dry up on the tree. Many times you can see threads of white mycelium on the underside of the leaves.
There are a few copper fungicides that are labeled for figs but the best practice is to not wet the leaves during irrigation, provide for good air flow around the tree and rake and destroy leaves during the dormant season to cut down on disease spores.
For more information on these or related topics contact Kenny at 225-686-3020.