Fruit Thinning
The practice of fruit thinning apples, pears, and stone fruits is much discussed but little understood. Thinning is done for two reasons. First, a certain portion of the fruit is removed so that the remainder will develop adequate size and quality. Second, the thinning process serves to increase the plant's ability to form flower buds for the next year--provided the thinning is done early enough. Thinning also reduces the total load on the branches and reduces breakage. Thinning is necessary for apples, nectarines, pears, plums, and peaches. Hand thinning is the easiest and safest way to remove excess fruit. Hand thin fruit when the fruits are the size of the end of your little finger--about 1/2 inch in diameter. Simply start at one end of a branch and systematically remove fruit, leaving one fruit every 6 to 10 inches. It is best to cut the fruit off rather than pulling the fruit. Cutting the fruit will lessen the chance of damaging the spur. Be sure to leave only one fruit at a given site. Where doubles or triples are left, insects and disease will be difficult to control. Keep in mind that only 7 or 8 percent of the tree's flowers are needed to set a full crop of fruit. |
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