Currant bushes

Question

I get lots of flowers and fruit in the beginning, but I lose 90% of the fruit as it ripens. It falls off the plant, leaving very little fruit to enjoy. What can I do to save the fruit and keep it on the plant?

Answer 1

This is known as "fruit drop" or "running off", and it's a common problem with currants. The explanation seems to be that self-pollinated flowers produce fruits that drop off so that the plant can focus on growing cross-pollinated fruits. Providing a second plant to cross-pollinate the first and/or taking measures to attract more pollinators will likely help with the problem.

Fruit drop may also be influenced by temperature, as discussed in the following article (scroll all the way to the bottom):

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/98-095.htm#Premat