At this time of year, we always get calls about persimmon fruit falling off the trees. Most persimmon varieties have the ability to set parthenocarpic fruit. However, these fruit have a tendency to fall off with a little bit of stress. Fruit set was higher with any of the pollination treatments than without pollination. Pollinated fruit developed faster and were usually larger.
Older trees tend to set more parthenocarpic fruit than younger ones.
For commercial growers who want to set a crop every year, the authors recommend pollination for Fuyu, which has a tendency towards alternate bearing, and for Tanenashi. They make excellent winter mulches. We do have a little folder on leaf management-if you need a copy, let me know. Lots of people ask that question. All plots were fertilized with NPK at 130 130-130.