Hand Thinning Apples 



The question was asked about desired fruit spacing when hand thinning 

 apples. Experimental evidence has shown for most varieties that fruits should 

 be thinned to allow about 30 to 50 leaves in the vicinity of each fruit. The 

 usual commercial practice is to space the apples from 6 to 8 inches apart on 

 the branch with Delicious apples being spaced farther apart than Mcintosh. The 

 spacing will vary depending upon fruit set on individual limbs and upon location, 

 variety, tree age, soil moisture, etc. In some instances there may be a relatively 

 small number of apples on a limb but these are clumped together. In these cases 

 the fruit should not be thinned or only lightly thinned. Apple varieties which 

 inherently set heavy crops, unless chemical thinning is successful, require more 

 hand thinning than other varieties. In years like this past summer no matter 

 how much hand thinning was done satisfactory fruit size could not be obtained 

 from trees in some locations. More fruits may be left near the periphery 

 (outside) and top of older trees than near the center because of greater wood 

 vigor, leaf surface and more light. 



Some Orchards Still Need Limel 



Although the use of lime in apple orchards has been stressed for a number 

 of years, many growers are still not following this recommended practice. It 

 is surprising the number of growers that have not limed their orchards for a 

 number of years. Apparently the problem of soil acidity exists in other states. 



Dr. E. G. Fisher, Cornell University, states that soil acidity is certainly 

 one of the major nutritional problems in VJestern New York. In the Proceedings 

 of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the New York State Horticultural Society he says: 

 "About 67% of the soil samples we collected in the Western New York area were at 

 or below pH 4.9. An acid soil condition often leads to magnesium deficiency. 

 Based upon soil or leaf analysis, about 40% of the samples we collected showed 

 a need for increased magnesium levels." 



Another condition brought out by the 1956 New York State leaf analysis was 

 the low potassium level in many of the Western New York apple orchards. About 

 68% of the samples analyzed indicated a need for potassium. As Dr. Fisher stated, 

 "This does not mean that 68% of the Western New York orchards need potassium 

 fertilization. There is a decided tendency for us to be called into problem 

 orchards. It does mean that many of our problem orchards are low in potassium," 



Apple Box Dumpers (Box Turners) 



While visiting apple package sheds during the month, the writer observed 

 two growers using hand-operated mechanical apple box dumpers. These were 

 obtained from manufecturers of apple grading equipment. However, apple box dumpers 

 can be constructed by growers having a well-equipped farm shop and probably for 

 half the price. Although the dumped apples were not checked for bruises, the 

 growers definitely felt that the mechanical apple box dumpers reduced the number 

 and average size of bruises. 



The dumping operation is most efficient when the boxes are transported to 

 the dumpers by means o£ a roller convey jr. The enr" of the conveyor should be 

 close to and about an inch higher than the box holder platform so that the 

 operator can slide the box up to the platform. With the mechanical dumper and 

 conveyor, it is the \-n:iter's opinion that a v;oman can handle the job of dumping 

 the apples on the grader 



---W. J. Lord 

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