Mulberry - unripe fruit is black

[Tal999]

Hello,

I have a mulberry tree in it's second year of fruit production.
as you can see in the picture, some unripe fruit is dark/black, unlike others which are green .

is this a problem ?
should i do something ?
will the black ones become normal when ripe ?

Thanks,
Tal

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Which species and cultivar of Mulberry (Morus) is your tree? White mulberry (Morus alba) and Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) are most likely grown, but there are other species. The multiple fruit shown is withered. It will not mature into fruit. What percentage of the tree's fruit is doing this? Trees may self-abort some fruit if the crop is more than can be supported.

 

[Tal999]

thank you for the quick response.

it is a Pakistan Red Mulberry (the one with long and tasty berries).
out of the fruit i can currently see, about half is withered (it only started showing a few days ago)

it sits in a 170 liter pot, does that mean it needs a bigger pot ?
should i prune it before next season, in order to avoid such withering ?
could it be something else like a lack/over water/sun/nutrients ?

 

[Marck]

Interesting. Pakistan Mulberry (Morus macroura) is supposed to have a particularly fine flavour, compared to other mulberries. Supposedly the plant is native to southern and southeastern Asia, actually farther east than Pakistan, but of course, it is now becoming cultivated more widely.

Give your container-grown tree full sun, regular water, good drainage and a regular application of a complete, liquid fertilizer.

For now, I would observe the plant, and see how the leaves emerge and the fruit develops. Judge the size of the crop against the size of the tree and the fact that it is grown in a container. Even many aborted fruit is not a problem if there is still an acceptable crop remaining.

After harvest, you might consider beginning a pruning regimen that will aim thave a third to half of the stem s each year be one-year old fruiting wood. In a container, a plant's root area is often limited, so pruning is used to balance a plant's shoot and leaf area with its root area. Mulberries (Morus spp.) blooms on the previous years wood so a cyclical prune in which every year you remove some branches that are two-years old or older is the best method.

Yes, you could try repotting it, but 170 liters is already rather a large pot. If there was a place to plant it in the ground that would be ideal.

 

[Tal999]

after taking another good look at my tree, i think i found the reason for the wilted fruit.
my tree stands in the shade, and stretches its branches into the sun.
the shaded branches are the ones with the wilted fruit and the sunny branches fruit is green and big,
so i assume it is the lack of direct sun light.

now i understand why it is said to give it full sun, unfortunately i lack the space to grow my tree in the sun.
maybe i will just bend the shaded branches towards the sun or prune the shaded branches, and keep the sunny ones

you seem to be very knowledgeable and have all the answers
thanks for the help and kind advise