Why are my lemons cracking?

Question

My lemons are cracking as shown in below image:

What can be causing this and how can I prevent this in the future?

Location: India. Weather In May-June: Hot! > 95F days.

Cracked lemon

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 04 '16 at 13:07

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This is the improved meyer lemon variety which will crack naturally and you can't avoid it. this variety is grown commercially in Afghanistan and almost 20% of the fruit is cracking.

edited Sep 04 '16 at 13:07

kevinskio

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answered Sep 04 '16 at 09:53

Aziz

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score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 27 '12 at 14:02

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According to http://ceventura.ucdavis.edu/Gardening/Coastal/Veg-Fruit/CitrusCrack/ it is due to uneven watering... Which you sometimes just can't avoid in containers... So you could step up to a larger container or add some sort of inverted bottle drip system...

I don't have a lot of citrus experience, but with other fruit, sometimes just too much direct sun can cause the water to expand and break the fruit open.

So I guess the answer is too much turgor pressure... The cause being osmotic pressure from sporadic watering or expansion pressure from over heating.

answered Jun 27 '12 at 14:02

Grady Player

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Hi Grady! I found this question interesting, but the link has moved. The same site still has a related page, but I couldn't tell if the information's exactly the same, so I didn't want to replace your link. I'm just letting you know in case it's something you want to change and bring forward for newer people to see, or if you'd rather just let it be. Thanks! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Apr 08 '16 at 23:01
@sue, you may do with it as you see fit, up to and including removing the link altogether... you may also post another answer with anything helpful :) – Grady Player Apr 08 '16 at 23:47
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Thanks for the clarification. I didn't want to step on your toes, so this helps me! :) – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Apr 09 '16 at 15:16

Why are my lemons cracking?

2 Answers2