Fruit Cracking
Risk near you, next 48h
See whether your local forecast favours this disease right now.
When it strikes
About
Fruit cracking is a physiological disorder of tomatoes, cherries, plums and melons caused by rapid water uptake after dry spells, especially when heavy rain follows drought near ripening.
Symptoms
Concentric or radial splits in the skin around the stem or across the fruit, which then invite rot and insects; most common after rain on ripening fruit.
Organic Treatment
Keep soil moisture steady with mulch and regular watering, harvest ripening fruit before forecast rain, and remove cracked fruit promptly.
Chemical Treatment
Not applicable — cracking is corrected by consistent watering, not chemicals.
Prevention
Water evenly and mulch to buffer swings, choose crack-resistant varieties, harvest promptly, and avoid letting plants dry out then flood.