Blossom End Rot

Garden Problems

Blossom end rot is a disease associated with physiological problems such as nutrient deficiency or irregular watering. It affects fruit such as tomatoes, lemons, peppers, apples, eggplant/aubergine and melons.

Identify the problem
Blossom end rot (BER) causes the ends of the affected fruit to develop a leathery, blackened scar that rots the fruit, damaging the core. In severe cases the fruit becomes inedible.
BER is usually associated with irregular watering or deficiency of calcium or phosphorous.
How to solve the problem
- Irrigate your plant evenly. Try not to let soils dry out but don’t over-water. On a hot day water twice.
- Apply a fertiliser with calcium (Ca), high phosphorous (P) and not too high nitrogen (N).
- Later fruit are less likely to be affected.