growing figs

8/14/2019 Growing Figs

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Growing Figs in the South for Home Use 1979--Krezdon, A. H.Department of Fruit CropsUniversity of Florida

andAgricultural Research ServiceScience and Education AdministrationHome and Garden Bulletin 87, USDA, 1962Slightly revised February 1979

Archive copy of publication, do not use for current recommendations.

The PDF file was provided courtesy of the National Agricultural Library.

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^ r

Growing Figs

the Southfor Home Use

UNITED S TAT E SDEPARTMENT OFA G R I C U LT U R E

HOME ANDGARDEN B U L L E T I NNUMBER 87

PREP RED BY

SCI E N CE ANDEDUCATIONADMINISTRATION


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Growing Figsin the Southfor Home Use

Fig trees make excellent door-

yard trees. They are adapted tomore soils than most other fruittrees, and they require a minimumof care to produce fruit fo r eatingfresh or for preserving. A singletree will usually produce enoughfigs to meet the needs of one family.

To grow figs successfully, followthese rules:

Cho ose va r i e t i e s that areadapted to your area.

Select a planting site w here thetree will receive full sunlight mostof th e day.

Plant the trees while they aredormant.

Prune them annually to keep

grow th w ithin bounds. Protect them from insect anddisease damage.

ADAPTATION

The general area where fig treesare adapted is show n on the map.

Fig trees are in jured by low

winter temperatures. In general,figs a re not adapted to areas w herethe t e m p e r a t u r e is f r e q u e n t l ybelow 10F. Even in the South, figtrees are frozen back by severewinter cold or by early-fall andlate-spring freezes.

If fig trees are protected from lowtemperatures, they can be grow n inareas farther north than is show n onthe ma p. To protect the trees, plantthem in a location where they areshielded from winter winds or plantthem in containers and move themindoors during the w inter.

Though fig trees are not harmedby high summ er tem peratures, longperiods of daytime tempe raturesover 100 F may cause fruit to ripenprematurely and to be tough.

Fig trees grow best in dee p, fer-tile so ils, but they grow satisfactor-ily in soil types ranging from coarsesand to heavy clay. They grow w ellboth in acid soils and in alkaline

soils.

BN-16571

Area of the United States where figtrees are adapted.


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Because of damaging soil-borneorganisms, figs do not grow well inseveral areas wi th in the generalarea o f ad ap t a t i o n . I n cen t r a l

Florida, nematode damage to theroots is severe. In some areas ofsouthern Texas, cotton root rot isprevalent; this disease ki l ls figtrees.

FRUITING HABITS

All fig varieties recom me nded for

the South produce a main crop offruit that ripens in midsummer tolate summer. Some varieties alsoproduce a small crop, called th ebreba crop, that r ipens in earlysummer. The brebas are borne onold wood and are poor in quality.They should be picked to aid controlof fig diseases and insects.

Fruits of the m ain crop are bo rnein the axils of the leaves on the cur-rent season's g row th . M atur i tystarts with the oldest fruits at thebase of the current shoot and pro-gresses tow ard the tip.

After a tree is 5 years old, it canbe expected to produce about 50pounds of fruit a year, provided thatit has made norm al grow th and hasbeen cared for properly.

RECOMMENDEDVARIETIES

Table 1 lists six va rieties of figsrecommended for the South and

gives some characteristics of each.O f these six recommended vari-

eties, Celeste and Brown Turkeyare the best general-purpose figsfor the South.

The fresh-fruit quality of C elesteis superior to tha t of the o ther vari-

All statements and instructionsin this bulletin about fig trees applyalso to fig bushes, except where

specific distinctions are made.

eties. During the dormant season,the wood of Celeste is slightly moretolerant of cold than the wood ofother varieties.

Brown Turkey has the longest ri-pening season of the recommended

varieties. If Brown Turkey is in-jured by f reezing, it produces fair-to-good crops on sucker wood thenext season. This is an advantagew h e r e sp r ing f r o s t s c o m m o n l ydamage fig trees. B row n Turkey isan excellent variety for growing incontainers.

Magnolia is a weak grower. Itsfruit sours and splits badly duringw et w eather. This can be preventedif the fruit is picked ju st prior to fullm aturity and is used for preserves.Magnolia preserves are superior topreserves made from fruit of the

BN-16086

The main crop of fruit is borne in leafaxils on shoots of the current season s

growth.


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other recommended varieties. LikeB r o w n Turkey, Magnolia producesfair-to-good crops on sucker woodthe season after injury from freez-ing.

The fruit of Green Ischia is ofexcellent quality when eaten fresh,but its extreme seediness detractsfrom its quality when it is pre-served. Green Ischia is a good vari-ety to grow in areas where fruitdamage by birds is severe; thebright-green color of its fruit is lessattractive to birds than the colors of

frui ts of the other recommendedvarieties.

Hunt is a relatively new varietythat is somewhat tender to cold. Itis grown primarily in Louisiana; lit-tle is known about its adaptabilityelsewhere. The main attributes ofHunt are good fresh-fruit qualityand resistance to souring.

Kadota is not widely grown in theSouth but it does extremely wel l inthe West and in southwest Texas.Kadota is another of the varietiesthat produce a fair-to-good crop o f

TABLE 1. Some characteristics of six fig varieties recommended fo rthe South

Variety

Br o wn TurkeyCeleste,

Magnolia

Green Ischia

H u n t

Kadota.

Fruitingafter severe

freezedamage

Frui ts wellN o fruit

Fruits well .

N o fruit

fruit

Fruitsfairlywell .

Color of fruit

BronzeL ig h t b r o wn to

violet.Bronze with white

fle ksBright green

Dull b ronze withwhite flecks and a

distinct bloom.

Bright greenishyellow.

Size of

fruit

Me d i u mSmall

Medium

Medium

Small tomedium.

Small tomedium.

Time of rst r ipening

Mid-Ju ly.Mid-Ju ly.

Late July.

Late July toearly August .

Early July tomid-July.

Mid-Ju ly.

Variety

Brown Turkey CelesteMagnoliaGreen IschiaH u n tKadota

L en g th of r ipeningseason

LongShortShort (long w hen

pruned heavily) .Very shortVery shortShort

For eatingfresh

GoodVery goodFair

GoodGoodFair

Quality of fruit

For preserving

Excellent (moderately dark) .Excellent (dark colored).Excellent (light colored).

Good (seeds objectionable) .Excellent (dark colored).Excellent (light colored) .

1 In extremely warm areas, may be 1 or 2 weeks earlier.


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fruit on sucker wood the seasonafter injury from cold.

SELECTING A VARIETYChoose a fig variety that w ill best

meet your needs. Consider w hetheryou w ant fruit for eating fresh, orfruit fo r preserving only.

Be sure the variety you choose isadapted to the climate of you r area.Ask your county agricultural agentor your State agricultural experi-ment station for recommendationsfor you r locality.

There is considerable confusionover variety nam es. M islabeled var-ieties often result in fruit failure.Magnolia is sold by California nu r-series as B runsw ick. The Turkey orBrown Turkey of California is notthe Brow n Turkey recomm endedfor the South, even thou gh it is mis-takenly sold as such. To be sure ofgetting the right variety in theSouth, buy Brown Turkey nurserystock from a sou thern nursery .Brown Turkey also is widely soldthroughout the South as Everbear-ing o r Texas Eve rbearing.

If you buy fig trees from sourcesoutside the South, be sure they areself-fruiting; otherwise, they willfail to fruit properly.

PLANTING

When To Plant

Plant fig trees while they aredormant; spring is the best time. Inwarm areas, bare-rooted trees canbe set out in fall or early w inter; butwhere late spring frosts are com-mon, it is best to set them out inspring after danger of hard w inter

f r e e z e s h as passed . Con ta iner-g row n p lan t s sho u ld a lw ays beplanted in spring.

Where To Plant

For best growth, fig trees needfull sunlight and freedom from com-peting trees and shrubs.

Roots of fig trees w ill not damagemasonry foundations of bu ildings orsteel pipe, but they may damageclay sewer pipe. Do not plant figtrees within 25 feet of clay sewer

pipe or over septic tank drain fields.If you plant fig trees in a l aw n,

keep a 2- to 3-foot area arou nd each tree free of grass for a year or twountil the tree becomes established.

Do not plant fig trees close tosuch rapid-growing plants as mul-berry, chinaberry, hackberry, elm,black locust , and pr ivet . Theseplants will use water and nutrientsneeded by the fig trees.

Soils in orchards and old gardensgenerally are heavily infested withnematodes. Treat such soils with anematocide before planting (seep. 9). Yo u n g trees mus t be pro-tected from nem atodes if they are toget a good start.

How To Plant

Fig trees from nurseries may begrown in the field and sold barerooted, or they may be grown incon tainers and sold w hile still in thecontainer.

Before planting a bare-rooted

tree, prune off about one-third of itstop, unless i t was topped by thenursery. Container-grown plantscan be transplanted without beingpruned; they need only to be re-moved from the con tainer and set inthe planting hole.


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Set fig trees in the planting holeso they are 3 or 4 inches deeper thanthey were in the nursery. Fill th ehole with soil; water heavily enoughto settle the soil around the roots.

TRAINING AND PRUNING

Though fig plants can be trainedto either tree o r bush form, the treeform is not practical for the South;in this region, fig plants freque ntly

are frozen back to the ground , mak-ing the tree form difficult to main-tain.

Begin training to bush form attime of planting; cut back the young

plant to about one-half of its height.This forces shoots to grow from thebase of the plan t. L et these shootsg ro w th ro u g h th e f irst season.Then, during the w inter after plant-ing, select three to eight vigorous,widely spaced shoots to serve asleaders. Remove all other shootsan d p r u n e th e l ead er s b ack towithin 1 foot of the ground.

Be sure the leaders that youselect are far enough apart so theycan grow to 3 or 4 inches in diameter

w i thou t crowding each other. Ifthey are too close together, theycannot grow thick enough to sup-port them selves and their crop, andthey tend to b low dow n o r split off

IP

:;

PN-1053

Figs trained to bush form.


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under stress of high winds. If thish a p p e n s , r e m o v e the d a m a g e dleader and select a new leader thenext winter from one of the m anysuckers that arise annual ly.

Beginning the second year af terplant ing, head back the bush eachspring after danger of frost is pastbut before growth has started. Dothis by rem ov ing about one-third toone-half the length of the a nnua lg rowth .

Also, p rune out all dead w ood and

re m o v e b ra n c h e s that i n t e r fe rew ith grow th of the leaders. Cut offlow-growing lateral branches andall sucker growth that is not neededfo r replacement of broken leaders.

Do not leave bare , unproduct ives tubs when you prune . These stubsare entry points for w ood decay or-g a n i s m s . M a k e all p run ing cu t sback to a bud or b ranch .

FERTILIZING

Fig trees grow satisfactorily inm oderately fert i le soils w ithout fer-tilizer. B ut fert i l izer is needed insoils of very low fert i l i ty or where

compet i t ion from other plants isheavy.If g rowth is poor, have your soil

tested. Your county agricul turalagent can tell you how to subm it soilsamples to you r State agriculturalexperiment stat ion for testing. Al-though nitrogen usually is the onlye lement that is deficient, other ele-

m e n t s may be l ack ing in s o m eareas.

If the tests indicate that your soilneeds f e r t i l i z e r, use 8-8-8 fe r-tilizer, as follows:

Plants 1 to 2 years old Applyone-third pou nd of fertiliz er each

mon th starting w hen growth beginsunti l the end of August .

Plants older than 2 years Apply fertilizer in la te w inter, earlyJune , and late July. Use about 1pound of fertilizer per year per footof height, or about 12 pou nds peryear for a bush taller than 12 feet .

WAT E RING

For highest yields, figs need wa-tering th roughout the summer.

The f requency of watering andthe a m o u n t of water to apply de-pend to a large extent on the soil.Soils that are shallow or that do nothold m oisture w il l need frequen twatering. General ly, watering isadeq uate if shoot grow th continu esand leaf size is normal. Yellowingand dropp ing of leaves m ay indicateeither overwatering or drought.

In l awns , the grass benea th figtrees may w i lt in the heat whi le therest of the law n does not. This indi-cates that the figs need water. Figsgrown wi th lawn grasses may re-quire one or more waterings a w e ekduring hot , dry periods.

CONTROLLING WEEDS

Weeds around fig trees can usu-ally be controlled by using a m u lch,a herbicide, or by l ight cultivation.

Hay, corncob s, pine needles, andsaw dust m ake good m ulches. Applythe mulch 4 to 6 inches deep fromthe tree t runk to several f e e tbeyond the tips of the branches.Mulch the tree w h e n it is first setout and maintain the mulch con-tinuously.

A black polyethylyene mulch iseffective in controll ing weeds and


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preserving moisture in the soi l .Place this plastic sheet in the samelocation as any ordinary organicmulch. If the tree is located in anarea of sparse rainfall , you maywant to perforate the mulch. Thisallows th e rain to filter throug h it aswell as around it. This mulch willlast for more than 3 years, if youkeep the edges firmly anchored inthe soil.

If mulching is not sufficient fo rcontrolling w eeds , use carefully di-

rected sprays of Stod dard solvent.Use the so lven t at full strength andthoroughly wet the weed s . Uselow-pressure spray equipment andkeep the nozzle close to the grou nd.Spray when the air is calm to pre-vent harmful spray drift onto thetrees. Apply the spray at least 6inches away from the bases of trees.

When mulching is not needed, figtrees require only light cultivationto keep the w e e d s d o w n and tobreak up surface crusts. Hoeingshould be shallow ; otherw ise, theroots may be damaged.

PROTECTING FROM

WINTER INJURYYoung bu shes or trees should be

protected from winter in jury invery cold areas during their first 2years.

In late fall, pile loose soil aro un dthe bases of young bushes or treesto a he ight of 1 to 2 feet. Remove soil

in spring after danger of frost ispast.

PROPAGATING

Propagate figs from cuttings. Todo this

M a k e the c u t t i n g s in la tewin ter from the previous season'sgrowth . The cuttings should be 8 to10 inch es long.

Use straight, vigoro us woodnot over three-fourths o f an inch indiameter.

Mak e the basal cut just below ajoint, or node.

To root cuttings directly in thegarden, plant them so only the topbud of each cutting rem ains above-ground. Water sparingly.

To root a cutting in a container,keep the top bud or two above thesoil and the basal end 2 to 3 inch esabove the botto m of the container.Cu t holes in the con tainer to assureproper drainage. Water the cuttingw hen it is placed in the container; donot water again until it has leafedout, unless the soil becomes quitedry. A fter th e plant leafs ou t , w aterit in the same w ay that you w ouldany other potted plant.

Protect the plant from f reezedamage over w inter. In spring, setit out as directed un de r Planting(p. 5).

PESTS AND DISEASES

Insects

Fig trees and their fruit may bedam aged by beetles (including bor-ers), mealybugs, and scale insects.The M agnolia variety is especiallyvulnerable to the dried-fruit beetle,

which enters the eye of the fruit andcauses the fruit to sour.You can help protect your trees

and fruit against insects by Pruning and burning infested

limbs. Des t roying insect breeding

8


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BN-16570

Dried-fruit beetle. Abo ut 13 t imesnatural size.)

placesclean ing u p leaf trash,grass piles, and fallen fruit.

Picking the fruit before it fullyripens if it is to be used for preserv-ing only.

If damage persists, send insectspecimens in a small bottle of rub-bing alcohol to your local or Stateagricultural extension service foridentification; ask for control rec-ommendations. Do not send liveinsects through the mail.

Nematodes

Nematodes are tiny soil worms.

They stunt or kill fig trees by at-tacking the roots.In deep, sandy soils, young trees

are severely stunted and occasion-ally killed by nematodes . O ldertrees that have had a chance to be-come established before nematodeinfestation has built up in the soilare less affected but may show de-creased vigor, produce smallerfruit, and drop their fruit prema-turely.

In clay soils or in sandy soils thathave a clay subsoil w ithin 2 or 3 feetof the surface, tree g rowth andfruiting are usually normal; clay

soils do no t suppo r t heavynematode buildups.

In old orchard or garden siteshav ing sandy soils, nema tode infes-tation is usually so severe that it isoften impractical to plan t figs unles sthe soil is f irst treated w i t h anematocide. It is also well to treatthe soil in l a w n areas w i t h anematocide before planting figsthere. U se m aterials containing1,3-dichloropropenes (DD); a mix-ture of DD and methylisothiocya-

nate; ethylene d ibromide ( E D B ) ;s o d i u m m e t h y l d i t h i o c a r b a m a t e(SMDC); o r m ethyl bromide. Warn-ing: If applied too heavily, somenem a toc ide s seve re ly dam ageplants; follow instructions on thelabel.

Fig Rust

Fig rust is a fung us disease thatattacks young fig leaves but doesn o t in ju re mature lea f tissue.Leaves affected by fig rust fall pre-maturely; the affected trees arem ore susceptible to cold injury thanare healthy trees.

You can recognize fig rust by the

small, yellowish-green spots thatappear on leaves. These spots en-large and turn ye l lowish brown.The leaves often become distorted.

To control fig rust, rake up andburn old leaves. Ap ply a 4-4-50Bordeaux spray (avai lable f romgarden-supply dealers).

Spray all new leaves , particularlythe undersides. Begin spraying assoon as the first leaves have ex-panded to full size. Apply sprayevery 3 or 4 weeks during normalweather, more often during rainyweather.

This spray sch edu le also controls


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other fungal leaf-spot diseases andtwig blights of figs.

COMMON CAUSES OFFRUIT FAILURE

The fruit from your tree may bepoor or the yield m ay be low er thane x p e c t e d ; c o m m o n causes a n dsuggested remedies are listed intable 2 .

HARVESTING

For eating fresh, pick figs

as soonas they ripen. They have the best

flavor then.

For preserving, pick figs severaldays before they fully ripen. Thisreduces damage from souring andsplitting; the fruit also holds to -gether better when cooked.

In pulling fruit from tree, leavestem attached to fruit . Wear glovesto protect your hands from the ir-ritating milky juice.

Remove all fallen fruit daily fro maround the tree to keep down in-sects and other pests.

In areas where bird damage issevere, pick fru it early in the morn-ing.

TABLE 2.Common causes of fruit failure

Condit ion

All f ru i t d rops when }3 to2/s full size.

Leaves drop off prema-tu re ly ; f ru i t w i th e r s andfails to ma tu re .

Fruit ing is poor; t reeg r o w t h i s retarded.

Roots have knots orgalls and are distorted.

Fruit fails t o ma tu re ;leaves are small. V igor-ous new wood arisesfrom the base.

Fruit sours and man ysplit.

Fruit is tough and fallsprematurely during hot ,dry weather (Celesteonly) .

Probable cause

Wrong variety for area(requires pollination).

Fig rust or o ther leaf-spot diseases, or a twigblight.

Nematode damage.

L ow t emperatu res havekilled some stem tis-sues.

Unsuitable variety or un-usually w et year.

Excessive heat.

Suggested remedies

Destroy tree and replantw ith recommended variety.

Use 4-4-50 Bo rd eau x spray.Rake u p and bu rn oldleaves.

Use a commercial nemato-cide; m ulc h; or p lan t t reenext to a bui ld ing.

C ut tree back to groundlevel and develop a newtop from suckers thatarise.

If u nsuitable variety, replantwi th Brown Turkey, Ce-leste, Green Ischia, orHunt; or pick fruit priorto maturi ty and preserve.

No control.

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USE OF PESTICIDES 2242 82

This publication is intended fornat ionwide distributio n. Pesticidesare registered by the E nv i ronmen-

tal Protection Agency (EPA) forcountrywide use unless otherw iseindicated o n the label.

This use of pesticides is governedby the provisions of the Federal In-sect ic ide, Fungicide, and Roden-ticide Act, as amended. This act isadministered by EPA. According tothe provisions of the act, It shall beunlawful for any person to use anyregistered pesticide in a manner in-consistent with its labeling. (Sec-tion 12(a) (2 ) (G))

The op t imum use of pesticides,both as to rate and f requency, mayvary in d ifferent sections of thecount ry. Users of this publication

m a y a l s o w i s h to c o n s u l t theirCo opera t ive Ex ten s ion Se rv ice ,State agricultural exp erime nt sta-t ions, or county extension agentsfor information applicable to theirlocalities.

The pesticides mentioned in thispublication are available in severaldifferent formulat ions that contain

varying amounts of active ingre-dient. Because of these differences,

the rates given in this publicationrefer to the amount of active ingre-dient, unless otherwise indicated.

Users are reminded to convert therate in the p u b l i c a t i o n to thestrength of the pesticide actuallybeing used . For example , 1 pound ofactive ingredient equals 2 pounds ofa 50-percent formulation.

The user is cautioned to read andfollow all directions and precaut ionsgiven on the label of the pesticideformulation being used.

Federal and State regula t ionsrequire registration numbers . Useonly pesticides that carry one ofthese registration numbers .

USDA publ icat ions that containsuggestions for the use of pesticidesare normally revised at 2-year in-

tervals. If you r copy is more th an 2years old, contact you r C oope rativeExtension Service to de te rmine thelatest pestic ide recom m endat ions.

T he pesticides mentioned in thispublicat ion were federa l ly regis-tered for the use indicated as of theissue of this pub lication. The user iscautioned to de te rmine the direc-

tions on the label or labeling prior touse of the pesticide.

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NAT IONAL A G R IC U LTU R A L LIBRARY

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0301 Baltimore Bivd

MD 20705235,

Library

Information for this publication w as furnished by A. H. Krezdon,Department of Fruit Crops, University of Florida, and by the Science and

Educat ion Administration's Agricultural Research Staff

Issued December 1962Slightly revised February 1979

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 979 O271 965

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing OfficeWashington, D.C . 20402

Stock Number 001-000-03839-7

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