Apricot tree

[minu]

Hi,
I have a mature apricot tree (approx 10 yrs old) which has been neglected for the most part but this year I am trying to do justice to it. We get a few apricots each year but the birds have a better feast. Based on a response on the forum, I have taken it out of the lawn and added compost, etc. I have not watered it but we have been having sporadic rain (we are in the San Francisco bay area). My problem is that there is a ton of fruit coming but I keep seeing a bunch of raw fruit falling off the stem. Some of it might be those pesky birds but some of the fruit is whole and just seems to have come off the stem before it even starts ripening. The fruit is still green and not even fully grown.
Is this normal or is something else going on here?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks
Minoti

[Kisal]

I'm certainly no authority, but it's my understanding that a fruit tree will often drop fruit early if it is bearing a large crop. I don't really know if that applies to apricots, but my apple tree bears heavily in alternate years, and in the years when it produces a lot of fruit, it routinely drops excess fruit in June. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]

[The Helpful Gardener]

Not to panic; the chances are the dig and move created a heavy flowering situation and the plant is just adjusting the fruit to root ratio by shedding. You can help this by selcetively removing fruitwhere it is clustered in favor of specific ones. Here's an article you should read...

[url]https://www.umanitoba.ca/afs/hort_inquiries/fruit_and_fruit_plants/premature_fruit_drop.html[/url]

HG