Green Fruit Drop (GFD)

Overview

Extensive GFD has only been observed in ‘Draper’ and is related to insufficient allocation of calcium under the Fraser Valley’s climatic conditions. Fruit sets and develops normally until just before turning blue when it suddenly drops from the bush over the course of a week or two. The dropped fruit are brown inside while the fruit that remain on the bush are perfectly normal to all appearances. It is only seen in some fields and in some years and to varying extents within fields, not being exclusively linked to a particular soil type but manifesting more commonly under high vigour conditions.